Vertically spaced electrode structure

ABSTRACT

A vertically separated electrode structure includes a polymeric material post on a substrate. An inorganic material cap covers the top of the post and extends beyond an edge of the post in at least a width dimension to define a first reentrant profile. A first electrode is located over the cap. A second electrode is located over the substrate and not over the post. The second electrode is adjacent to the edge of the post in the reentrant profile such that a distance between the first electrode and second electrode is greater than zero when measured orthogonally to the substrate surface. The first electrode and second electrode have the same material composition and layer thickness.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Reference is made to commonly-assigned, U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/198,621 (now granted as U.S. Pat. No. 9,093,470), entitled “VTFTFORMATION USING CAPILLARY ACTION”, Ser. No. 14/198,636, entitled “VTFTFORMATION USING SELECTIVE AREA DEPOSITION”, Ser. No. 14/198,643,entitled “VTFT INCLUDING OVERLAPPING ELECTRODES”, Ser. No. 14/198,623,entitled “VTFTS INCLUDING OFFSET ELECTRODES”, Ser. No. 14/198,626 (nowabandoned), entitled “PATTERNING A STRUCTURAL POLYMER PATTERNING”, Ser.No. 14/198,628, entitled “VTFT WITH POLYMER CORE”, Ser. No. 14/198,630,entitled “FABRICATING VTFT WITH POLYMER CORE”, Ser. No. 14/198,631,entitled “VTFT WITH EXTENDED ELECTRODE”, Ser. No. 14/198,647, entitled“OFFSET INDEPENDENTLY OPERABLE VTFT ELECTRODES”, Ser. No. 14/198,652,entitled “FORMING A VTFT USING PRINTING”, Ser. No. 14/198,664, entitled“FORMING VERTICALLY SPACED ELECTRODES”, all filed Mar. 6, 2014.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to semiconductor devices and inparticular to transistor devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modern-day electronics systems typically require multiple patternedlayers of electrically or optically active materials, sometimes over arelatively large substrate. Electronics, such as radio frequencyidentification (RFID) tags, photovoltaics, and optical and chemicalsensors, require some level of patterning in their electronic circuitry.Flat panel displays, such as liquid crystal displays orelectroluminescent displays, rely upon accurately patterned sequentiallayers to form thin film components of the backplane. These electroniccomponents include capacitors, transistors, and power buses. The usualcombination of photolithographic patterning methods and selective etchprocesses has several shortcomings including high cost, difficulty withlarge substrates, and complexity of selective etch processes.

The feature size obtainable using traditional processing methods islimited by the resolution of the photolithography tools. Currently theminimum feature size for large area display backplanes is around 0.5microns, and requires expensive high end equipment. Minimum featuresizes for large area substrates with less expensive equipment can bemuch larger. High speed circuit operation requires TFTs with high drivecurrent, and many applications additionally require the drive current beobtained with low voltage operation. It is well known that TFTperformance is improved by reducing the channel length. To move beyondthe exposure limitation of feature size, vertical transistors of variousarchitectures are currently being studied. In a vertical TFTarchitecture, the channel is formed perpendicular to the substrate, andtherefore the channel length (L) can be controlled by the height of alayer in the transistor.

Recent work in the fabrication of VTFT, while yielding short channellength devices, has used otherwise standard photolithographic techniqueswith complex semiconductor processes. For example, since it is notcurrently possible to put patterns directly on walls which are verticalwith respect to a substrate surface, vertical wall patterning has beenaccomplished using a suitable temporary filler material to partiallyfill in a trench. The temporary filler material acts as a mask for theportions of the wall located underneath while allowing for processing ofthe walls above the temporary filler material. For example, when anoxide is to be deposited exclusively on vertical walls below a temporaryfiller material, the oxide is first deposited or produced over theentire surface of the relief. The relief or trench is initiallycompletely filled with a suitable temporary filler material. Then, thetemporary filler material is recessed back to a depth that just coversthe desired oxide. After uncovered sections of the oxide are removed,the remaining temporary filler material is removed.

When it is necessary that an oxide be deposited or produced only inupper regions of a vertical wall, an etching stop layer, for example, anitride layer, is first provided over the entire surface of the entirerelief pattern. A different material, susceptible to directionaletching, for example, polycrystalline silicon, is used to fill therelief, and is etched back as far as the desired coverage depth of thefinal vertical oxide. After the etching stop layer is removed from theunfilled sections of the walls, an oxide is deposited or generated usinga thermal technique in the uncovered regions. Next, the oxide isanisotropically etched which removes the deposited oxide fromhorizontal. This is followed by removal of the filler material and,then, the removal of the etching stop layer.

In light of the complicated existing processes there is an ongoing needto provide semiconductor device architectures that include patternedvertical or inclined device surfaces. There also is an ongoing need toprovide simple manufacturing techniques capable of processing smalldevice features of semiconductor devices without requiring highresolution alignments and small gap printing for vertical TFTs. Therealso is an ongoing need to provide higher current semiconductor devicesby improving the series resistance of the device.

To maintain acceptable device performance when shrinking the size of thechannel, it is typical to scale the layer thicknesses with the size ofthe device. For example, in conventional production CMOS with channellengths of 90 nm and lower often utilize dielectric layer thicknesses ofless than 10 nm. While there are many processes to deposit dielectricmaterials, few result in high quality films at these thicknesses. Atomiclayer deposition (ALD) is a process that is both conformal and known toresult in high quality thin layers when used with optimized processconditions.

In ALD processes, typically two molecular precursors are introduced intothe ALD reactor in separate stages. U.S. Patent Application Publication2005/0084610 (Selitser) describes an atmospheric pressure atomic layerchemical vapor deposition process that involve separate chambers foreach stage of the process and a series of separated injectors are spacedaround a rotating circular substrate holder track. A spatially dependentALD process can be accomplished using one or more of the systems ormethods described in more detail in WO 2008/082472 (Cok), U.S. PatentApplication Publications 2008/0166880 (Levy), 2009/0130858 (Levy),2009/0078204 (Kerr et al.), 2009/0051749 (Baker), 2009/0081366 (Kerr etal.), and U.S. Pat. No. 7,413,982 (Levy), U.S. Pat. No. 7,456,429(Levy), and U.S. Pat. No. 7,789,961 (Nelson et al.), U.S. Pat. No.7,572,686 (Levy et al.), the disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

There is growing interest in combining ALD with a technology known asselective area deposition (SAD). As the name implies, selective areadeposition involves treating portion(s) of a substrate such that amaterial is deposited only in those areas that are desired, or selected.Sinha et al. (J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 24 6 2523-2532 (2006)), haveremarked that selective area ALD requires that designated areas of asurface be masked or “protected” to prevent ALD reactions in thoseselected areas, thus ensuring that the ALD film nucleates and grows onlyon the desired unmasked regions. It is also possible to have SADprocesses where the selected areas of the surface area are “activated”or surface modified in such a way that the film is deposited only on theactivated areas. There are many potential advantages to selective areadeposition techniques, such as eliminating an etch process for filmpatterning, reduction in the number of cleaning steps required, orpatterning of materials which are difficult to etch. One approach tocombining patterning and depositing a semiconductor is shown in U.S.Pat. No. 7,160,819 entitled “METHOD TO PERFORM SELECTIVE ATOMIC LAYERDEPOSITION OF ZINC OXIDE” by Conley et al. Conley et al. discussmaterials for use in patterning zinc oxide on silicon wafers. Noinformation is provided, however, on the use of other substrates orresults for other metal oxides.

SAD work to date has focused on the problem of patterning a singlematerial during deposition. There persists a problem of combiningmultiple SAD steps to form working devices. Processes for buildingcomplete devices need to be able to control the properties of thecritical interfaces, particularly in field effect devices like TFTs. Assuch, there remains a need for novel processes to simplify themanufacture of vertical TFTs. There also is a need for novel processesthat use SAD and digital patterning processes to pattern devices, forexample, VTFTs, which have critical vertical features.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention, a vertically separatedelectrode structure includes a substrate and a polymeric material poston the substrate. The post has a height dimension extending away fromthe substrate to a top defined by a length dimension and a widthdimension over the substrate, and edges along the height dimension. Aninorganic material cap is on the top of the post, the cap covering thetop of the post in the length dimension and the width dimension of thepost, the cap extending beyond the edges of the post in at least thewidth dimension to define a first reentrant profile. A first electrodeis located over the cap. A second electrode is located over thesubstrate and not over the post and adjacent to the reentrant profilesuch that a distance between the first electrode and second electrode isgreater than zero when measured orthogonally to the substrate surface.The first electrode and second electrode have the same materialcomposition and layer thickness.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the detailed description of the example embodiments of the inventionpresented below, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b are schematic cross-sectional and plan views,respectively, of an example embodiment of a vertical transistor of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b are schematic cross-sectional and plan views,respectively, of an example embodiment of a post, cap, and gate layersof a vertical transistor of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another example embodimentof a vertical transistor of the present invention formed using a line ofsight deposition process;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another example embodimentof a vertical transistor of the present invention including a longerchannel;

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b are schematic cross-sectional and plan views,respectively, of another example embodiment of a vertical transistor ofthe present invention including an additional dielectric layer;

FIGS. 6 through 11 are schematic cross-sectional views of exampleembodiments of a post, cap, gate, and other material layers of avertical transistor of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart describing an example embodiment of a process offorming a vertical thin film transistor having a polymer post accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a flow chart describing an example embodiment of selectivearea deposition for use in the present invention;

FIGS. 14 a and 14 b through FIGS. 20 a and 20 b are schematic viewsshowing vertical transistor formation using the process flow describedin FIG. 12 with FIGS. 14 a, 15 a, 16 a, 17 a, 18 a, 19 a, and 20 a beingcross-sectional views and FIGS. 14 b, 15 b, 16 b, 17 b, 18 b, 19 b, and20 b being plan views;

FIGS. 21 a and 21 b through FIGS. 25 a and 25 b are schematic viewsshowing source electrode and drain electrode formation using selectivearea deposition described in FIG. 13 with FIGS. 21 a, 22 a, 23 a, 24 a,and 25 a being cross-sectional views and FIGS. 21 b, 22 b, 23 b, 24 b,and 25 b being plan views;

FIGS. 26 a and 26 b through FIGS. 29 a and 29 b are schematic views ofone example embodiment of cap formation with FIGS. 26 a, 27 a, 28 a, and29 a being cross-sectional views and FIGS. 26 b, 27 b, 28 b, and 29 bbeing plan views;

FIGS. 30 a and 30 b through FIGS. 33 a and 33 b are schematic views ofanother example embodiment of cap formation in which the cap is alignedto a conductive layer under the post with FIGS. 30 a, 31 a, 32 a, and 33a being cross-sectional views and FIGS. 30 b, 31 b, 32 b, and 33 b beingplan views;

FIG. 34 is a flow chart describing an example embodiment of a process offorming a vertical thin film transistor having a polymer post includingprinting of an inhibitor;

FIGS. 35 a and 35 b through FIGS. 51 a and 51 b are schematic viewsshowing vertical transistor formation using the process flow describedin FIG. 34 with FIGS. 35 a, 36 a, 37 a, 38 a, 39 a, 40 a, 41 a, 42 a, 43a, 44 a, 45 a, 45 c, 46 a, 47 c, 49 a, 49 b, 49 c, 50 a, and 51 a beingcross-sectional views and FIGS. 35 b, 36 b, 37 b, 38 b, 39 b, 40 b, 41b, 42 b, 43 b, 44 b, 45 b, 46 b, 47 a, 47 b, 48 a, 48 b, 48 c, 50 b, and51 b being plan views;

FIGS. 52 a and 52 b are schematic cross-sectional and plan views,respectively, of an example embodiment of a single vertical transistorof the present invention;

FIGS. 53 a and 53 b are schematic cross-sectional and plan views,respectively, of another example embodiment of a single verticaltransistor of the present invention;

FIGS. 54 a and 54 b are schematic cross-sectional and plan views,respectively, of another example embodiment of a single verticaltransistor of the present invention that includes a filler material;

FIG. 55 is a flow chart describing an example embodiment of a process offorming a multilayer filler material for use in present invention;

FIGS. 56 a and 56 b through FIGS. 62 a and 62 b are schematic viewsshowing vertical transistor formation using the process flow describedin FIG. 55 with FIGS. 56 a, 57 a, 58 a, 59 a, 60 a, 61 a, and 62 a beingcross-sectional views and FIGS. 56 b, 57 b, 58 b, 59 b, 60 b, 61 b, and62 b being plan views;

FIGS. 63 a and 63 b are schematic cross-sectional and plan views,respectively, of an example embodiment of a vertical transistor of thepresent invention including two independently operable transistorsformed over a single post and cap;

FIG. 63 c is a schematic cross-sectional view highlighting therelationship between the electrodes of the vertical transistor shown inFIGS. 63 a and 63 b;

FIG. 64 is a flow chart describing an example embodiment of a process offorming vertically separated electrodes for use in the presentinvention;

FIG. 65 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an example embodiment ofa vertical transistor of the present invention including verticallyseparated electrodes formed over a structural polymer post and inorganiccap;

FIG. 66 is a schematic view of a deposition device, used in anexemplified process, showing the arrangement of gaseous materialsprovided to a substrate subject to the thin film deposition process ofthe examples described herein;

FIG. 67 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a delivery head, usedwith the deposition device of FIG. 66, showing the arrangement ofgaseous materials provided to a substrate subject to the thin filmdeposition process of the examples described herein;

FIGS. 68 a through 68 c are images of a vertical transistor of thepresent invention as described in relationship to inventive example I2with FIG. 68 a being an optical micrograph, FIG. 68 b being a SEM imageof one side of the vertical transistor, and FIG. 68 c being a magnifiedview of a reentrant profile of a vertical transistor;

FIG. 69 a is a graph showing performance I_(ds)-V_(g) curvecharacteristics from the transistors of inventive examples I1 throughI4;

FIG. 69 b schematically shows example embodiments of patterns used toform the vertical transistors of inventive examples I1 through I4;

FIG. 70 is a graph showing performance I_(ds)-V_(g) curvecharacteristics from the transistors of inventive examples I5-I7 asmeasured with V_(d)=8 Volt; and

FIG. 71 is a graph showing the relationship of channel length andchannel width for vertical transistors of an example embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present description will be directed in particular to elementsforming part of, or cooperating directly with, vertical transistors inaccordance with the present invention. It is to be understood thatelements not specifically shown or described may take various forms wellknown to those skilled in the art. In the following description anddrawings, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible,to designate identical elements.

For the description that follows, the term “gas” or “gaseous material”is used in a broad sense to encompass any of a range of vaporized orgaseous elements, compounds, or materials. Other terms used hereinincluding “reactant,” “precursor,” “vacuum,” or “inert gas” have theirconventional meanings as would be well understood by those skilled inthe materials deposition art. The term “over” refers to the relativeposition of an element to another and is insensitive to orientation,such that if one element is over another, it is still functionally overif the entire stack is flipped upside down. As such, the terms “over,”“under,” or “on” are functionally equivalent and do not require theelements to be in contact, and do not prohibit the existence ofintervening layers within a structure. The term “adjacent” is usedherein in a broad sense to mean an element next to or adjoining anotherelement. The figures provided are not drawn to scale but are intended toshow overall function and the structural arrangement of some embodimentsof the present invention.

The embodiments of the present invention all relate to short channelvertical thin film transistors (TFTs) which include a patternedstructural polymer with an inorganic cap to define the vertical portionof the channel. The term “vertical transistor” as used herein refers totransistors where the source and drain which define a single channel areat two different distances from the substrate surface (as measuredorthogonal to the substrate). This arrangement results in verticaltransistors where at least a portion of the channel is verticallyoriented with respect to the substrate, which is to say not parallel tothe top surface of the substrate. Vertical transistors of the presentinvention include those with portions of their channels in anarrangement that is parallel to the substrate surface, as long as theyalso have a portion which is not parallel.

The phrase “structural polymer” as used herein refers to the polymericmaterial used in the formation of the polymer post and additionallyuseful to distinguish the structural polymer material from otherpolymeric materials or polymer layers that can be used in the process.The structural polymer is a polymer that is stable in the finalapplication, and a wide variety of structural polymers can be used.Examples of structural polymers include polyesters, polyetheresters,polyamides, polyesteramides, polyurethanes, polyimides, polyetherimides,polyureas, polyamideimides, polyphenyleneoxides, phenoxy resins, epoxyresins, polyolefins, polyacrylates, polyethylene-co-vinyl alcohols(EVOH), and the like, or their combinations or blends. The preferredstructural polymers are epoxy resins and polyimides. The structuralpolymer can be a thermoplastic polymer. The polymer can be a curablecomposition, including either thermal or radiation curable composition.The polymer does not need to be radiation curable or photosensitive, butphotosensitive formulations are useful in the present invention so longas the final cured polymer layer has the structural and mechanicalproperties required in the final application.

Polyimide is a preferred structural polymer due to the combination offilm properties such as low stress, low CTE, low moisture uptake, highmodulus or good ductility for microelectronic applications. The rigidrod polyimide structure of Cured PI-2600 products available from HitachiDuPont MicroSystems, for instance, are well suited for use as adielectric layer for semiconductor applications. Epoxy resins are alsopreferred due to their thermal and chemical properties. Radiationcurable compositions comprising a highly branched, multifunctional epoxybisphenol A-novolac resins, such as Epon SU-8 from Momentive SpecialtyChemicals Inc. is one example of a useful epoxy resin, althoughnon-radiation curable compositions are more preferred.

The process of making the vertical thin film transistors of the presentinvention can be carried out below a support temperature of about 300°C., more preferably below 250° C., or even at temperatures around roomtemperature (about 25° C. to 70° C.). These temperatures are well belowtraditional integrated circuit and semiconductor processingtemperatures, which enable the use of any of a variety of relativelyinexpensive supports, such as flexible polymeric supports. Thus,embodiments of the invention enable production of relatively inexpensivedevices on flexible substrates without the need for photolithography andenabling rapid pattern changes due to printing the patterns.

The substrates used in the present invention can be any material thatacts as a mechanical support for the subsequently coated layers. Thesubstrate can include a rigid material such as glass, silicon, ormetals. Particularly useful metals are stainless steel, steel, aluminum,nickel, or molybdenum. The substrate can also include a flexiblematerial such as a polymer film or paper. Useful substrate materialsinclude organic or inorganic materials. For example, the substrate caninclude inorganic glasses, ceramic foils, polymeric materials, filledpolymeric materials, coated metallic foils, acrylics, epoxies,polyamides, polycarbonates, polyimides, polyketones,poly(oxy-1,4-phenyleneoxy-1,4-phenylenecarbonyl-1,4-phenylene)(sometimes referred to as poly(ether ether ketone) or PEEK),polynorbomenes, polyphenyleneoxides, poly(ethylenenaphthalenedicarboxylate) (PEN), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET),poly(ether sulfone) (PES), poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS), orfiber-reinforced plastics (FRP). The thickness of substrate 110 canvary, typically from about 100 μm to about 1 cm.

A flexible support or substrate can be used in the present invention.Using a flexible substrate allows for roll processing, which can becontinuous, providing economy of scale and economy of manufacturing overflat or rigid supports. The flexible support chosen is preferablycapable of wrapping around the circumference of a cylinder of less thanabout 50 cm in diameter, more preferably 25 cm in diameter, and mostpreferably 10 cm in diameter, without distorting or breaking, using lowforce as by unaided hands. The preferred flexible support can be rolledupon itself. Additional examples of flexible substrates include thinmetal foils, for example, stainless steel, provided the foils are coatedwith an electrically insulating material layer to electrically isolateany electric components such as thin film transistors. Nominally rigidmaterials that are flexible due to their thinness can also be used.These include glass at thicknesses below 200 μm and metals atthicknesses below 500 μm.

In some example embodiments, the substrate can include a temporarysupport or support material layer, for example, when additionalstructural support is desired for a temporary purpose, e.g.,manufacturing, transport, testing, or storage. In these exampleembodiments, the substrate can be detachably adhered or mechanicallyaffixed to the temporary support. For example, a flexible polymericsupport can be temporarily adhered to a rigid glass support to provideadded structural rigidity during the transistor manufacturing process.The glass support can be removed from the flexible polymeric supportafter completion of the manufacturing process.

The substrate can be bare indicating that it contains no substantialmaterials on its surface other the material from which it is composed.The substrate can include various layers on the surface. These layersinclude subbing layers, adhesion layers, release layers, wetting layers,hydrophilic layers, and hydrophobic layers. The substrate surface can betreated in order to promote various properties. These treatments includeplasma treatments, corona discharge treatments, or chemical treatments.

The substrate can also include on its surface patterned materials. Thesepatterns can include patterns that modulate light transmission orelectrical conductivity within or on the substrate. The patterns caninclude complete devices, circuits, or active elements existing on thesubstrate. The patterns can include portions of devices, circuits, oractive elements awaiting subsequent processing steps for completion.

In the present invention, the formation of the patterned structuralpolymer layers is accomplished using patterned thin film inorganicmaterials. The patterning of the thin film inorganic material on top ofthe structured polymer layer can be done using standardphotolithographic techniques or through the use selective areadeposition (SAD) in combination with atomic layer deposition (ALD) toform a patterned thin film inorganic material layer on top of thestructural polymer layer. SAD employs a patterned material referred toas a “deposition inhibitor material”, “deposition inhibiting material”,or simply an “inhibitor” that inhibits the growth of a thin filmmaterial on the substrate when the substrate is subjected to an atomiclayer deposition. By inhibiting the growth where the depositioninhibitor material is present, the ALD process only deposits material inregions (selective areas) of the substrate where the inhibitor is notpresent. The phrases “deposition inhibitor material”, “inhibitormaterial” and their equivalents refer herein to any material on thesubstrate that inhibits the deposition of material during atomic layerdeposition (ALD). The “deposition inhibitor material” includes thematerial applied to the substrate as well as the material resulting fromany optionally subsequent crosslinking or other reaction that modifiesthe material that can occur prior to depositing an inorganic thin filmon the substrate by atomic layer deposition. A polymeric depositioninhibitor material can be crosslinked after applying the polymer ontothe substrate, before or during the pattering step.

The vertical thin film transistors of the present invention are composedof dielectric, semiconductor and conductor materials. In preferredembodiments of the present invention the dielectric, semiconductor andconductor materials are inorganic thin films. A dielectric material isany material that is a poor conductor of electricity. Such materialstypically exhibit a bulk resistivity greater than 10¹⁰ Ω-cm. Examples ofdielectrics are SiO2, HfO, ZrO, Si_(x)N_(y), or Al₂O₃. A semiconductoris a material in which electrical charges can move but in which theconcentration of electrical charges can be substantially modulated byexternal factors such as electrical fields, temperature, or injection ofelectrical charges from a neighboring material. Examples ofsemiconductors include silicon, germanium, or gallium arsenide.Particularly preferred semiconductors are zinc oxide, indium zinc oxide,or gallium indium zinc oxide. The semiconductors can be doped to renderthem n-type or p-type, or to modulated the number of charge carrierspresent. Conductors of the present invention include metals, such as Al,Ag, Au, Cr, Mo, or In and inorganic conducting oxides, such as indiumdoped tin oxide (ITO) or aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO).

The dielectric and semiconductor inorganic materials layers areconformal, and are preferably deposited using an atomic layer deposition(ALD) process. ALD is a process which is used to produce coatings withthicknesses that can be considered consistent, uniform, or even exact.ALD produces coatings that can be considered conformal or even highlyconformal material layers. Generally described, an ALD processaccomplishes substrate coating by alternating between two or morereactive materials commonly referred to as precursors, in a vacuumchamber. A first precursor is applied to react with the substrate. Theexcess of the first precursor is removed from the vacuum chamber. Asecond precursor is then applied to react with the first precursor onthe substrate. The excess of the second precursor is removed from thevacuum chamber and the process is repeated.

Recently, a new ALD process has been developed which negates the needfor a vacuum chamber. This process, commonly referred to as S-ALD, isdescribed in at least one of U.S. Pat. No. 7,413,982, U.S. Pat. No.7,456,429, U.S. Pat. No. 7,789,961, and US 2009/0130858, the disclosuresof which are incorporated by reference herein. S-ALD produces coatingswith thicknesses that can be considered consistent, uniform, or evenexact. S-ALD produces coatings that can be considered conformal or evenhighly conformal material layers. S-ALD is also compatible with a lowtemperature coating environment. Additionally, S-ALD is compatible withweb coating, making it attractive for large scale production operations.Even though some web coating operations may experience alignment issues,for example, web tracking or stretching issues, the architecture of thepresent invention reduces reliance on high resolution or very finealignment features during the manufacturing process. As such, S-ALD iswell suited for manufacturing the present invention.

The preferred process of the present invention includes S-ALD, acontinuous spatially dependent ALD (as opposed to pulsed or timedependent ALD). The process of the present invention allows operation atatmospheric or near-atmospheric pressures and is capable of operating inan unsealed or open-air environment. The process of the presentinvention is adapted such that material is deposited only in selectedareas of a substrate.

Atomic layer deposition can be used in embodiments of the presentinvention to deposit a variety of inorganic thin films that are metalsor that include a metal-containing compound. Such metal-containingcompounds include, for example (with respect to the Periodic Table) aGroup V or Group VI anion. Such metal-containing compounds can, forexample, include oxides, nitrides, sulfides or phosphides of zinc,aluminum, titanium, hafnium, zirconium or indium, or combinationsthereof.

Oxides that can be made using the process of the present inventioninclude, but are not limited to, zinc oxide (ZnO), aluminum oxide(Al2O3), hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, indium oxide, tin oxide, andthe like. Mixed structure oxides that can be made using the process ofthe present invention can include, for example, InZnO. Doped materialsthat can be made using the process of the present invention can include,for example, ZnO:Al, MgxZn1-xO, or LiZnO.

Metals that can be made using the process of the present inventioninclude, but are not limited to, copper, tungsten, aluminum, nickel,ruthenium, or rhodium. It will be apparent to the skilled artisan thatalloys of two, three, or more metals can be deposited, compounds can bedeposited with two, three, or more constituents, and such things asgraded films and nano-laminates can be produced as well.

These variations are simply variants using particular embodiments of theinvention. There are many other variations within the scope of theinvention, so the invention is limited only by the claims that follow.The material chosen for the inorganic thin film layer will depend on theapplication and function of the desired device. All of the materialsdetailed above will function as a hard mask for patterning theunderlying structural polymer layer and are useful as an inorganic cap.Preferred materials for the inorganic thin film cap include Al₂O₃, SiO₂,HfO, ZrO, TiO₂, Ta₂O₅, Si_(x)N_(y), ZnO, or a doped-ZnO material. Thethickness of the inorganic material layer will also depend on theapplication; however thicknesses between 5 nm and 100 nm are preferred.As such, depositing the inorganic thin film using an atomic layerdeposition process preferably deposits less than 100 nm. Inorganic thinfilm layers greater than 100 nm are also useful, but may take a longtime to deposit. These are only used when dictated by the application.For use in inorganic-with-polymer structures where a portion of theinorganic thin film is unsupported, as in the case for structures havinga reentrant profile, it is preferred that the inorganic thin film have asufficient thickness to be self-supporting, preferably greater than 10nm.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a thin film transistorstructure includes a substrate and a polymeric material post on thesubstrate. The post has a height dimension extending away from thesubstrate to a top and an edge along the height dimension. On the top ofthe post is an inorganic material cap, the cap covering the top of thepost, and extending beyond the edge of the post to define a reentrantprofile. A conformal conductive material gate layer is over the edge ofthe post in the reentrant profile. A conformal insulating material layeris on the gate layer in the reentrant profile. A conformal semiconductormaterial layer is on the insulating material layer in the reentrantprofile. A first electrode is located in contact with a first portion ofthe semiconductor layer over the cap, and a second electrode is locatedin contact with a second portion of the semiconductor layer over thesubstrate and not over the post, and adjacent to the reentrant profile.A distance between the first electrode and second electrode is greaterthan zero when measured orthogonally to the substrate surface, and thefirst electrode and the second electrode define a transistor having achannel in the semiconductor layer between the first electrode and thesecond electrode.

Turning now to the Figures, a schematic cross-sectional view of verticaltransistors 100 and 200 of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1 a,taken along the line A-A′ of the plan view shown in FIG. 1 b. As shownin FIG. 1 a, TFTs 100 and 200 are each a vertical transistor structure,where the vertical portion is defined by a polymer post 20 with andinorganic cap 30. The gate layer 125 is in contact with at least theedges 40 the post 20, the insulating layer 130 is in contact with thegate 125, and the semiconductor layer 150 is in contact with the firstelectrode 180. The polymer post 20, inorganic cap 30, and gate layer 125form an electrically conductive gate structure 120 having a firstreentrant profile 140 and a second reentrant profile 145.

Vertical transistors 100 and 200 are connected in series and formed overa single post structure. For simplicity, the following description willfocus on vertical transistor 100 with the understanding that thedescriptions apply equally to vertical transistor 200. Verticaltransistor 100 includes a substrate 110. Substrate 110, often referredto as a support, can be rigid or flexible and should be understood fromthe previous description. A polymeric material post 20 is on substrate110. The post 20 has a height dimension 45 extending away from thesubstrate 110 to a top defined by a length dimension and a widthdimension 25 over the substrate 110. The post 20 has edges 40 along theheight dimension. An inorganic material cap 30 is on top of the post 20.The cap 30 covers the top of the post 20 in the length dimension and thewidth dimension 25 of the post. The cap 30 extends beyond the edges ofthe post in at least the width dimension 25. A conformal conductivematerial is included in the gate layer 125 on the edges 40 of the post20 and over at least a portion of the substrate 110. As shown in FIG. 1a, the gate layer 125 conformally covers the cap 30, the edges 40 of thepost 20, and is also in contact with the substrate 110. The portion ofthe cap 30 which extends beyond the edges 40 of the post 20 forms afirst reentrant profile 140 and a second reentrant profile 145.

Briefly turning to FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, a schematic cross-sectional viewof the electrically conductive gate structure 120, including post 20,cap 30, and gate layer 125, is shown in FIG. 2 a, taken along the lineA-A′ of the plan view shown in FIG. 2 b. As shown in FIG. 2 b, the post20 has a length dimension 35 and a width dimension 25. The cap 30extends beyond the post 20 in the length and width dimensions as shownin FIGS. 2 a and 2 b. The gate layer 125 conformally covers the post 20and cap 30, and extends beyond the base of the post 20 to contactsubstrate 110. In other example embodiments of the invention, the gatelayer 125 covers only the edges 40 of the post 20 in the areas of thefirst reentrant profile 140, and optionally the second reentrant profile145. The polymeric material post 20 has a height dimension 45 extendingaway from the substrate 110. The height of the post defines the shortestobtainable channel length for vertical transistor 100 or 200. It is anadvantage of the present invention that channel lengths are easilyobtainable using the post 20 and cap 30 structure that are not easilyobtainable using standard photolithography. It is preferred that theheight of the post 20 that is less than or equal to 10 microns. In someexample embodiments, the post 20 is less than or equal to 2 microns. Instill other example embodiments, the post 20 is less than or equal to 1micron, and can be as short as 0.3 microns to minimize the verticaltransistor channel length. The cap 30 extends beyond the edge of thepost 20 and, therefore, should have structural integrity. It ispreferred that the cap 30 extends beyond the edge 40 of the post 20 by adistance that is less than the height 45 of the post 20.

Returning now to FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, insulating layer 130 conforms to thereentrant profiles 140 and 145 of transistors 100 and 200. Insulatinglayer 130 is in contact with the gate layer 125. As insulating layer 130is a conformal insulating material layer, it can be said to coat andmaintain the reentrant profiles 140 and 145. Insulating layer 130 isoften referred to as a dielectric material layer, or simply a dielectriclayer, and can be formed of a single material layer or multipledielectric material layers. Preferably the insulating layer 130 is athin film inorganic dielectric material layer. Semiconductor materiallayer 150 is in contact with the insulator layer 130 and also conformsto and maintains the shape of the first reentrant profile 140 and secondreentrant profile 145 of transistors 100 and 200. As such, semiconductormaterial layer 150 is a conformal semiconductor material layer.Preferably the semiconductor layer 150 is a thin film inorganicsemiconductor material layer.

The source and drain of transistor 100, 200 have conventionally acceptedmeanings, and either the first electrode 180 or the second electrode 170can be designated the source (or drain) as is required by theapplication or circuit. The first electrode 180, second electrode 170and third electrode 175 can be a single conductive material, as shown inFIG. 1 a, or can include any number of conductive material layers(commonly referred to as a conductive layer stack). The first electrode180 is located in contact with a first portion of the semiconductorlayer over the cap. The second electrode 170 electrode is located incontact with a second portion of the semiconductor layer over thesubstrate and not over the post, as shown in FIG. 1 a. The firstelectrode 180 and second electrode 170 electrode define a first channelin the semiconductor layer between the first electrode 180 and secondelectrode 170. The first electrode 180 has an edge into the plane ofFIG. 1 a along the line defined by point C1. As shown in FIG. 1 a, pointC1 is above the substrate surface. Similarly, the second electrode 170has an edge into the plane of FIG. 1 a along the line defined by pointC1′. As shown in FIG. 1 a, the first electrode 180 and second electrode170 electrodes are different distances from the substrate surface (seepoints C1 and C1′). Stated another way, the distance between the firstelectrode 180 and second electrode 170 is greater than zero whenmeasured orthogonal to the substrate surface. Together with the gatestructure, insulating layer, and semiconductor layer, this forms thefirst transistor 100, including a portion of the channel which isvertical with respect to the substrate surface.

As shown in FIG. 1 a, the vertical TFT 100 is formed in series withvertical TFT 200. In this configuration there are three electrodes, asecond electrode 170 for TFT 100 not over the post 20, the shared firstelectrode 180 over the cap 30 and post 20, and a third electrode 175 forTFT 200 not over the post 20 (on the side opposite the post 20 from thesecond electrode 170 electrode of TFT 100. As shown, the post 20 hasanother edge 40 along the height dimension and the cap 30 extends beyondthe other edge 40 of the post to define a second reentrant profile 145.The third electrode 175 is located in contact with a third portion ofthe semiconductor layer over the substrate 110 and not over the post 20,and adjacent to the second reentrant profile 145. The distance betweenthe first electrode 180 and third electrode 175 is greater than zerowhen measured orthogonal to the substrate surface. The first electrode180 and the third electrode 175 define a second transistor 200 having achannel in the semiconductor layer between the first electrode 180 andthe third electrode 175.

Accordingly, the first electrode 180 and the second electrode 170 definethe channel of the first TFT 100, and the third electrode 175 and thefirst electrode 180 define the channel of the second TFT 200. Theconfiguration shown in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b allows contact to the verticaltransistors 100 and 200 to be made on the substrate level so thetransistors are operated in series, rather than making connection at thetop of the electrically conductive gate structure 120. It should beunderstood that the present invention includes a single verticaltransistor where the electrodes are disposed as 170 and 180 in FIG. 1 a.As shown, the electrically conductive gate structure 120 functions asthe gate for transistors 100 and 200. In some example embodiments oftransistor 100, electrode 170 functions as the drain of transistor 100and electrode 180 functions as the source of transistor 100. In otherexample embodiments of transistor 100, electrode 170 functions as thesource and electrode 180 functions as the drain. The semiconductordevice is actuated in the following manner. After transistor 100 isprovided, a voltage is applied between the electrode 170 and theelectrode 180. A voltage is also applied to the electrically conductivegate structure 120 to electrically connect the electrode 170 and theelectrode 180.

Still referring to FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, vertical transistor 200 is formedat the same time as vertical transistor 100 is formed. Transistor 200can be actuated in the following manner. A voltage is applied betweenthe electrode 175 and the electrode 180, which is shared with verticaltransistor 100. A voltage is applied to the gate layer stack 120, whichis shared with vertical transistor 100, to electrically connect theelectrode 175 and 180.

Alternatively, transistor 100 and transistor 200 can be actuated inseries by applying a voltage between electrode 170 and electrode 175. Avoltage is applied to the gate layer stack 120, which simultaneouslyelectrically connects electrode 180 to electrode 170 and connectselectrode 180 to electrode 175. This can be advantageous for circuitapplications because external electrical connections do not need to bemade to the elevated third electrode 180. In other example embodimentsof the invention, the electrically conductive gate structure 120 canindependently gate transistor 100 and 200. In these embodiments, theelectrically conductive gate structure 120 can be formed as shown inFIGS. 9 through 11.

The reentrant profile 140 of transistor 100 allows a dimension of thesemiconductor material channel of the transistor to be associated withthe thickness of the electrically conductive gate structure 120, whichis defined by the height of the post 20, of transistor 100.Advantageously, this architecture of the present invention reducesreliance on high resolution or very fine alignment features during themanufacture of transistors that include short channels. Furthermore, theseparation of the first electrode 180 and second electrode 170 isprimarily determined by the reentrant profile 140 in the gate layerstack. Additionally, the first electrode 180, the second electrode 170,and the third electrode 175 are formed simultaneously and have the samematerial composition and layer thickness.

As shown, the second electrode 170 and the third electrode 175 arelocated adjacent to the first and second reentrant profiles 140, 145,respectively. The second electrode 170 and the third electrode 175 arevertically spaced from the first electrode 180 due to the height of theelectrically conductive gate structure 120. The second electrode 170 andthe first electrode 180 defining a first channel having ends of thefirst transistor 100 and the third electrode 175 and the first electrode180 define a second channel having ends of the second transistor 200.

The structure shown in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b can be formed from manydifferent materials. The first electrode 180, the second electrode 170,and the third electrode 175 can be any conductive material, and in someembodiments are transparent conductive oxides. It is one advantage ofthe present invention that the vertical transistors can be fullytransparent. It is also an advantage that all of the materials can bemetal oxides that are deposited from a common piece of equipment. Forclarity, the inorganic material cap, the conformal conductive materialgate layer, the conformal insulating material layer, the conformalsemiconductor material layer, the first electrode, the second electrode,and the third electrode can each include a metal oxide. The post 20includes a polyester, polyetherester, polyamide, polyesteramide,polyurethane, polyimide, polyetherimide, polyurea, polyamideimide,polyphenyleneoxide, phenoxy resin, epoxy resin, polyolefin,polyacrylate, polyethylene-co-vinyl alcohol, or a copolymer thereof, ora mixture thereof. Preferably, the post 20 includes an epoxy resin orpolyimide.

The polymer post 20 and cap 30 allow for multiple vertical transistorgeometries, depending on the processing tools available. Referring toFIG. 3, a schematic cross-sectional view of vertical transistors 103 and203 of another example embodiment of the present invention is shown. Thevertical transistors 103 and 203 are identical in components andoperation to the vertical transistors 100 and 200 shown in FIG. 1 a. Theembodiment shown in FIG. 3 is representative of vertical transistors 103and 203 formed by a line-of-sight deposition process for the firstelectrode 280, the second electrode 270 and the third electrode 275.Line-of-sight deposition processes include evaporation and sputtering.As shown, the first electrode 280 and the second electrode 270 arealigned near vertically. The first electrode 280 has an end (C2) and thesecond electrode 270 has an end (C2′), the end (C2) of the firstelectrode 280 and the end (C2′) of the second electrode 270 arevertically aligned.

Another example embodiment of the present invention is shown in theschematic cross-sectional view of vertical transistors 104 and 204 ofFIG. 4. The vertical transistors 104 and 204 are identical in componentsand operation to the vertical transistors 100 and 102 shown in FIG. 1 a.The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is representative of vertical transistors104 and 204 formed by a selective area deposition (SAD) process wherethe first reentrant profile 140 and second reentrant profile 145 arefilled with a deposition inhibitor by capillary action, and the firstelectrode 380, the second electrode 370 and the third electrode 375 aredeposited using ALD. As shown, the first electrode 380 and the secondelectrode 370 are spaced further apart resulting in a longer channellength of the first transistor 104 than seen in the previous embodimentsshown in FIG. 1 a by transistor 100 and in FIG. 3 by transistor 103. Asshown, a SAD process results in vertical transistors where a portion ofthe channel is vertically oriented with respect to the substrate, whichis to say is not parallel to the top surface of the substrate. Verticaltransistors 104 and 204 of the present invention have portions of theirchannels in an arrangement that is parallel to the substrate surface inaddition to the portion which is not parallel.

The wicking process used to form vertical transistor 104 of FIG. 4typically results in the inhibitor wetting out of the reentrant profileonto the substrate. The channel defined by the first electrode 380 andthe second electrode 370 preferably has a length dimension that is lessthan 10 times the height 45 of the post 20. The use of a wickeddeposition inhibitor also results in a channel that has a length thatvaries along the length 35 dimension (into the page) of the post 20, asshown in FIG. 4. The distance between C1 and C1′ will vary along thewidth of the channel of the transistor 104. The channel defined by thefirst electrode 380 and the second electrode 375 has a width dimensionand a length dimension, and the length dimension varies along the widthdimension of the transistor 104.

Turning to FIGS. 5 a and 5 b, a schematic cross-sectional view ofanother example embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 5a, taken along the line A-A′ of the plan view shown in FIG. 5 b. Asshown in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b, there is a conformal dielectric materiallayer 115 on the cap 30, the edges 40 of the post 20, and at least aportion of the substrate 110. The conformal dielectric layer is locatedat least between the gate layer 125 and the post 20. As shown in FIG. 5a, TFTs 105 and 205 are a vertical transistor structure, where thevertical portion is defined by a polymer post 20 with and inorganic cap30, which is covered by a conformal dielectric material layer 115.Conformal conductive material gate layer 125 is at least over the edgesof the post 20 and in contact with the dielectric material layer 115.The insulating layer 130 is in contact with the gate and the dielectricmaterial layer 115, and the semiconductor layer 150 is in contact withthe second electrode 175. With the exception of the conformal dielectricmaterial layer 115, the elements of the vertical thin film transistor105 and 205 shown in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b are the same as those forvertical thin film transistors 100 and 200 and should be understood fromthe descriptions of FIGS. 1 a and 1 b. The dielectric material layer 115in this embodiment serves to encapsulate the polymer post, and providesa single material surface for building the vertical transistor of thepresent invention. In this embodiment, the electrically conductive gatestructure 120 includes the post 20, cap 30, dielectric material layer115 and the conductive material gate layer 125. The addition ofdielectric material layer 115 can be used to avoid issues of non-uniformnucleation or thin film growth of the gate layer 125 on the post 20 andsubstrate surfaces 110. Preferably, the dielectric material layer 115 isan inorganic thin film dielectric material layer. The dielectricmaterial layer 115 is a conformal layer, which is preferably deposedusing ALD due to the conformal nature of the ALD process. As shown thedielectric material layer 115 maintains the first and second reentrantprofiles, 140 and 145.

FIGS. 2 a, 2 b and 7 through 12 serve to illustrate variousconfigurations of electrically conductive gate structure 120. It shouldbe understood with respect to the description of FIGS. 1 a and 1 b howthese electrically conductive gate structures 120 are incorporated intoa vertical transistor of the present invention. In all exampleembodiments of gate structure 120, the cap 30 extends beyond the post inat least the width dimension 25, and preferably in both the lengthdimension 35 and the width dimension 25, as shown in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b.In FIG. 2 a, the gate layer 125 conformally covers the post 20 and cap30, and extends beyond the base of the post 20 to contact substrate 110.In embodiments where the gate layer 125 contacts the substrate, the areaof contact is only limited by fabrication processes, and can be, forexample, a small area at the wall 40 of the post 20, or extend alongsubstrate 110.

Turning now to FIG. 6, another example embodiment is shown where thepost 20, cap 30 and substrate 110 are covered by a conformal dielectriclayer 115. In embodiments of the present invention including a conformaldielectric layer 115, the gate layer 125 is not required to, and maynot, contact the substrate 110 or the post wall 40 directly. Instead,the gate layer 125 is in contact with the dielectric layer 115 over thewall 40 and substrate 110. This embodiment of the electricallyconductive gate structure 120 should be understood from FIG. 6, andFIGS. 5 a and 5 b.

FIG. 7 shows an example embodiment of the present invention where thegate layer 125 is in contact with a conductive layer 122. In FIG. 7, theconductive layer 122 is in contact with the substrate 701, and is underpost 20. In this embodiment of the present invention, the electricallyconductive gate structure 120 includes a post 20, cap 30, gate layer 125and a conductive layer 122 under post 20 as shown in FIG. 7. Whenforming the electrically conductive gate structure 120 with thesecomponents, the conductive layer 122 is supplied on the substrate 701prior to forming the structural polymeric post 20. As such, in thisembodiment the substrate 710 includes both the support 701 and thepatterned conductive layer 122. As shown in FIG. 7, the conductivematerial layer 122 and the inorganic material cap 30 are verticallyaligned and have the same pattern within the area of the transistor.

FIG. 8 is another embodiment of the present invention having aconductive layer 122, and reduced capacitance. As in FIG. 7, theelectrically conductive gate structure 120 has another conductivematerial layer 122 positioned at least under a portion of the polymericmaterial post 20 and in electrical contact with the conformal conductivematerial gate layer 125. As shown in FIG. 8, however, the gate layer 125is composed of two sections 500 and 550 which are in contact withconductive layer 122 and are on the side walls 40 of post 20, but do notcover the cap 30. This arrangement of gate layer 125 reduces thecapacitance of the vertical transistors when used in the verticaltransistor architecture described in relationship to FIGS. 1 a and 1 b.In this embodiment, conductive layer 122 serves to physically andelectrically connect the two portions 500 and 550 of gate layer 125. Thevertical transistors having the gate layer 125 of FIG. 8, with twoportions 500 and 550, functions in the same manner as the verticaltransistors 100 and 200 of FIGS. 1 a and 1 b.

FIG. 9 is another example embodiment of the present invention having adielectric layer 115 which is in contact with the cap 30, post 20 andsubstrate 110. As shown in FIG. 9, the gate layer 125 does not fullycover the cap 30. The space 940 in between the two portions 920 and 925of the gate layer 125 reduces the capacitance of the verticaltransistors when used in the vertical transistor architecture describedin relationship to FIGS. 1 a and 1 b. This allows for faster circuits tobe fabricated using these methods. This patterning of the gate layer 125can be accomplished by standard photolithographic methods or by the useof selective area deposition in combination with ALD.

FIG. 10 is another embodiment of the present invention having reducedcapacitance. As shown, the gate layer 125 is composed of two sections500 and 550 which are in contact with the side walls 40 of post 20 butdo not cover the cap 30. In this embodiment, the two sections 500 and550 are each confined to be within the dimensions of the first andsecond reentrant profiles 140 and 145, and do not extend beyond thedimensions of the cap 30 on the substrate. Thus, the conformalconductive material gate layer 125 is only located in the firstreentrant profile 140 and in the second reentrant profile 145 in theregion of the channels. The two sections of the gate layer 125 can beconnected to a separate conductive layer 122 which serves to physicallyand electrically connect the two portions 500 and 550 of gate layer 125forming two transistors in series as a variation of the embodiment shownin FIG. 8. The vertical transistors having the gate layer 125 of FIG.10, with two portions 500 and 550, functions in the same manner as thevertical transistors 100 and 200 of FIGS. 1 a and 1 b.

FIG. 11 is another example embodiment of the present invention of thepost 20, cap 30 and gate layer 125 which, when used in place of theelements in FIG. 1, results in two separate vertical transistors onopposite sides of the post 20, separated by the width 25 of post 20. Inthis embodiment, the conductive layer 122 is patterned to bediscontinuous, so that there is no connection under the post 20. Whenused in vertical transistors of the present invention, the secondelectrode 170 and third electrode 175 can be located adjacent to thefirst and second reentrant profiles 140,145 respectively, on either sideof post 20 and not over the cap 30, and the first electrode 180 can becommon, over the cap 30, and function as the source electrode for bothvertical transistors. Alternatively, the two transistors can becompletely separate by splitting the first electrode 180, over the cap30, into two separate electrodes; such that the two separate verticaltransistors are formed using a single post 20 and cap 30 (referring toFIG. 63 a).

It should be understood that all of the structures of FIGS. 7 through 11can be used in place of the electrically conductive gate structure 120shown in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, and are considered to be example embodimentsof the present invention. As such, the example embodiments of thevertical transistors of the present invention should be understood towork with any electrically conductive gate structure 120 which meets therequirements as defined herein, and is not limited to the onesillustrated. As defined, the electrically conductive gate structure 120has a first reentrant profile 140 formed by polymer post 20 andinorganic cap 30 which extend beyond the edges of the post 20, and aconformal conductive gate layer 125.

Example embodiments of vertical transistors of the present inventionincludes a polymer post 20 and inorganic cap 30, which define areentrant profile 140 and a vertical portion of the device channel.These example embodiments demonstrate the benefits of the inventivearchitectures over planar devices and other vertical transistorarchitectures composed of similar materials. One process of the presentinvention for forming a vertical transistor will be briefly described.The process includes providing a substrate. A structural polymer layeris provided on the substrate. A patterned inorganic thin film is formedon the structural polymer layer, leaving exposed portions of thestructural polymer layer not under the inorganic thin film. The exposedportions of the structural polymer layer and portions of the structuralpolymer layer between the patterned inorganic thin film and thesubstrate are removed to form a structural polymer post having aninorganic cap that extends beyond an edge of the structural polymer postto define a reentrant profile. A conformal conductive gate layer isformed in the reentrant profile. A conformal dielectric layer is formedon the gate layer in the reentrant profile. The conformal semiconductorlayer is formed on the dielectric layer. A first electrode is formed incontact with a first portion of the semiconductor layer located over thecap and a second electrode located in contact with a second portion ofthe semiconductor layer over the substrate and not over the post.

A step diagram describing a process of fabricating example verticaltransistors of the present invention is shown in FIG. 12. In Step 810, asubstrate is provided into the system. The substrate can be anysubstrate as discussed that is suitable for use with the verticaltransistors of the present invention. The provided substrate can havepatterned layers. Providing the substrate can include providing apatterned conductive layer on the substrate prior to providing thestructural polymer layer in Step 820. In Step 820, a structural polymerlayer is provided on the substrate surface. The structural polymer canbe any polymer that is stable in the final vertical transistor structureand should be understood from the previous descriptions. In this step,the structural polymer layer can cover only a portion of the substratein some example embodiments. In some embodiments the structural polymeris deposited in a polymer layer having a thickness between 0.2 and 2microns.

In Step 830, a patterned inorganic thin film layer is formed on thestructural polymer layer. This step is preferably done using ALD, morepreferably using spatial ALD. It is preferred that the inorganic thinfilm be a dielectric material. Prior to depositing the inorganic thinfilm in Step 830, the surface of the structural polymer layer can beoptionally treated (not shown). The treatment can be done to activatethe surface of the structural polymer layer to facilitate the growth ofthe inorganic thin film on the surface of the structural polymer layer.The treatment should be understood from the previous discussion and caninclude using UV-ozone or plasma processes. The inorganic thin filmlayer can be patterned as deposited in Step 830 by using the combinationof selective area deposition and ALD. Alternatively, the inorganic thinfilm layer can be deposited uniformly and patterned using any methodknown in the art, including using a photolithographic process. Thepatterned inorganic thin film layer at least includes the pattern of theinorganic thin film cap.

In Step 840, the polymer post having an inorganic material cap is formedby etching the structural polymer layer. Specifically, Step 840 removesthe portions of the structural polymer layer not covered by thepatterned inorganic thin film, and portions of the structural polymerlayer that are under the inorganic thin film to create a post 20 with aninorganic cap 30 that extends beyond the edges of the post. Thisarrangement of the post and inorganic cap defines a reentrant profile.This step can be done using two different processes, or preferably in asingle process. In some embodiments using selective area deposition, thepatterned inhibitor layer can be removed prior to the removal of theportions of the structural polymer layer by a liquid process using asolvent or a detergent or by vapor process. In some embodiments usingSAD, the patterned inhibitor layer can be removed by the same etchingprocess that removes portions of the structural polymer layer.

Processes for etching the structural polymer layer include exposing thesubstrate to a vapor reactant that causes removal of the structuralpolymer. The removal can happen spontaneously upon reaction with thevapor, resulting in the conversion of the inhibitor to a volatilespecies. Alternatively, the vapor exposure can react with the structuralpolymer converting it to another species or morphology that is then moreeasily removable with another process, such as a liquid process. Thevapor exposure can include forms of energy to promote the process. Theseinclude light exposure, arcs or plasmas. Particularly desired lightexposures include UV exposure, especially in the presence of oxygen toproduce ozone. Plasmas include plasmas of various species includingoxygen, chlorine, and fluorine. Plasmas created with these materials orwith precursors that produce these materials are included in the presentinvention. The removal portions of the structural polymer layer can beaccomplished by a single exposure to a highly reactive oxygen processesincluding a UV-ozone process (UVO) or O2 plasma. The highly reactiveoxygen processes can be a batch process using a chamber based tool orcontinuous process using web process tools. The highly reactive oxygenprocesses can be at sub-atmospheric (vacuum) pressure or atmosphericpressure.

After the post and cap structure has been formed, the substrate, thepost, and the cap optionally can be coated with a dielectric material(not shown). In these embodiments, another conformal dielectric layer isdeposited on the cap and the edges of the post prior to forming theconformal conductive gate layer. The conformal dielectric layer ispreferably unpatterned in the region of the post and cap structure, andprovides a uniform material surface on which to deposit the remaininglayers of the device.

After the post and cap structure has been formed, a conformal conductivegate layer is formed in Step 850. The gate layer is a conformalconductive layer that is preferably deposited using an ALD process, andmore preferably by a spatial ALD process. The gate layer can be auniform layer or a patterned layer. A patterned gate layer can bepatterned at the time of deposition using a selective area depositionprocess or can be deposited uniformly and patterned using standardphotolithographic techniques. The gate layer covers at least someportion of the edges of the post in the reentrant profile formed in Step840.

A conformal dielectric layer is formed over and in contact with the gatelayer in Step 860. The conformal dielectric layer is a conformalinsulating layer that is preferably deposited using an ALD process, andmore preferably by a spatial ALD process. Preferably the insulatinglayer is an inorganic thin film dielectric layer. The conformaldielectric layer is in contact with the gate layer in the reentrantprofile. The insulating layer can be patterned at the time of depositionusing a selective area deposition process or can be deposited uniformlyand patterned using standard photolithographic techniques, either afterthis step or after subsequent process steps. Typically, the conformalinsulating layer includes vias, or holes, to the gate layer for makingcontact in future processing steps. The conformal dielectric layer canbe a single layer, or be a multilayer stack.

The conformal semiconductor layer is formed in Step 870. Thesemiconductor is preferably a thin film inorganic material layer, forexample, ZnO or doped ZnO. The patterned semiconductor layer can bepatterned at the time of deposition using a selective area depositionprocess or can be deposited uniformly and patterned using standardphotolithographic techniques. Preferably, semiconductor layer is thedeposited using an ALD process or, more preferably, by a spatial ALDprocess. The semiconductor layer is in contact with the insulating layerat least over the portion of the edge of the post in the reentrantprofile which is covered by the patterned gate layer material.

To complete the vertical transistor, the first and second electrodes aresimultaneously formed in Step 880. In this step, a first electrode isformed over the post and cap and a second electrode is formed which isnot over the post. This can be accomplished by using a line-of-sightdeposition process such as a metal evaporation process. In thisembodiment, the portion of the cap which overhangs the walls of the postcap prevents the metal from depositing on the walls of the post withinthe reentrant profile. The metal can be further patterned afterdeposition using standard photolithographic techniques. Alternativeline-of-sight deposition techniques include sputtering and reactivesputtering in order to deposit a film of metal, of alloy, or ofconductive metal oxide. In other example embodiments, Step 880 includesusing selective area deposition in combination with ALD tosimultaneously form the first and second electrodes. In theseembodiments, an inhibitor is used to pattern a conductive thin filmlayer. The inhibitor is present in at least a portion of the reentrantprofile defined by the cap and post structure, preventing the conductivethin film from depositing over the walls of the post in the reentrantprofile. In some embodiments, where the inhibitor is present only withinthe reentrant profile, the conductive material is further patternedusing standard photolithographic techniques. When using selective areadeposition to define the first and second electrodes it is preferred touse ALD, and most preferred to use spatial ALD. It is preferred to use apolymeric inhibitor as the deposition inhibitor material when usingselective area deposition process to define the first and secondelectrodes.

The formation of the first and second electrodes defines the channel ofthe vertical transistor which includes the portion of the semiconductorover the wall of the post. In these example embodiments, thesimultaneous formation of the first and second electrodes results in astructure where the first electrode is located in contact with a firstportion of the semiconductor layer over the cap and the second electrodelocated in contact with a second portion of the semiconductor layer overthe substrate and not over the post. As such, the first and secondelectrodes are different distances from the substrate surface and thedistance between the first and second electrodes is greater than zerowhen measured orthogonal to the substrate surface.

As shown in FIG. 12, Steps 820 through 850 can be grouped into singleStep 800 in which an electrically conductive gate structure is formedhaving a polymer post, inorganic cap and conformal conductive gatelayer.

In FIG. 13, the process steps associated with selective area deposition(SAD) are shown. First in Step 801, a patterned deposition inhibitorlayer on a surface having areas where the deposition inhibitor is absentis provided. This step can be completed using printing techniques, or byuniformly coating the deposition inhibitor and then patterning. Next, inStep 802 an inorganic thin film is deposited using an atomic layerdeposition. In this step, at least the area of the substrate having thepatterned deposition inhibitor is exposed to the ALD process. Theinorganic material only deposits on the areas of the substrate where thedeposition inhibitor is absent. The areas of the substrate havingdeposition inhibitor are protected by the deposition inhibitor, and arenot coated with the inorganic thin film material. After the depositingthe inorganic material, the deposition inhibitor can be optionallyremoved as shown in Step 803 leaving only the patterned inorganic thinfilm.

The process flow described in FIG. 12 can be further understood throughthe descriptive process build shown in FIGS. 14 a and 14 b through 20 aand 20 b. In FIGS. 14 a and 14 b, a cross-sectional view and a planview, respectively, a structural polymer layer 50 is provided on thesubstrate 110 as in Step 820 of FIG. 12. The structural polymer layer 50can be any polymer that is stable in the final vertical transistorstructure and should be understood from the previous descriptions. Inthis step, the structural polymer layer 50 can cover only a portion ofthe substrate.

In Step 830, a patterned inorganic thin film 57 is formed on thestructural polymer layer. As shown in FIGS. 15 a and 15 b, the patternedinorganic thin film 57 includes the pattern of the inorganic cap 30.This can be accomplished using any method known in the art, and shouldbe understood with respect to the description of Step 830.

In FIGS. 16 a and 16 b, a the polymer post 20 having an inorganicmaterial cap 30 is formed by etching the structural polymer layer 50 asin Step 840 of FIG. 12. Removing the portions structural polymer layer50 not covered by the patterned inorganic thin film 57, and portions ofthe structural polymer layer 50 that are under the inorganic thin film57 results in the polymer post 20 and inorganic cap 30 shown in FIGS. 16a and 16 b. The structure has a first reentrant profile 140 defined bythe portion of the inorganic thin film cap 30 overhanging the wall 40 ofthe polymer post 20. The resultant post 20 has the same height 45 as thethickness of the structural polymer layer 50, and a width 25 that isless than the width of the inorganic cap 30.

FIGS. 17 a and 17 b illustrate the result of Step 850 in FIG. 12,forming a patterned conformal gate layer 125 over the post 20 andinorganic cap 30. The patterned conformal gate layer 125 can be formedusing a selective area deposition process, or in other embodiments ofStep 850, the gate material can be deposited uniformly and patternedusing standard photolithographic techniques, resulting in theelectrically conductive gate structure 120 in FIGS. 17 a and 17 b.

FIGS. 18 a and 18 b illustrate the result of Step 860 in FIG. 12,forming a patterned insulating layer 130. The patterned insulating layer130 can be formed using a selective area deposition process, or in otherembodiments of Step 860, the insulating material can be depositeduniformly and patterned using standard photolithographic techniques,resulting in a conformal patterned insulating layer 130 coating theelectrically conductive gate structure 120 and maintaining the reentrantprofile 140 as shown in FIGS. 18 a and 18 b. As shown, an optional via70 is present in the conformal insulating layer 130 down to a portion ofconformal gate layer 125.

FIGS. 19 a and 19 b show the result of Step 870 of FIG. 12, forming aconformal semiconductor layer 150 on the conformal insulating layer 130.The conformal semiconductor layer 150 is at least present in the firstreentrant profile 140 of the electrically conductive gate structure 120,and can be said to maintain this profile. Forming the conformalsemiconductor layer 150 is preferably done using an ALD process, morepreferably using a spatial ALD process. As shown in FIGS. 19 a and 19 b,the conformal semiconductor layer 150 can be patterned. Patterning theconformal semiconductor layer 150 can be done using any method known inthe art, including photolithography or selected area deposition. Asshown, the semiconductor pattern forms a rectangle of conformalsemiconductor layer 150 over the gate structure but not over the area ofvia 70.

FIGS. 20 a and 20 b show the result of Step 880 of FIG. 12,simultaneously forming a first electrode 180 over the post 20 and cap 30and a second electrode 170 not over the post. As shown, the secondelectrode 170 is adjacent to the first reentrant profile 140, and thesecond electrode 170 and first electrode 180 form the channel of thefirst transistor 100. Since the first electrode 180 and the secondelectrode 170 are formed simultaneously they have the same materialcomposition. In a preferred embodiment, the first electrode 180 and thesecond electrode 170 also have the same material thickness. Thesimultaneous formation of the first electrode 180 and the secondelectrode 170 can be accomplished using a line-of-sight depositionprocess or a selective area deposition process as described in relationto Step 880 of FIG. 12. The completed vertical transistors 100 and 200shown in FIGS. 20 a and 20 b are equivalent (and identical) to thevertical transistors of FIGS. 1 a and 1 b.

One example embodiment of using selective area deposition to completeStep 880 of FIG. 12 can be better understood through the descriptiveprocess build shown in FIGS. 21 a and 21 b through 25 a and 25 b. Asshown in FIGS. 21 a and 21 b, a deposition inhibiting material 41 isdeposited on a portion of the substrate and on the electricallyconductive gate structure 120 including filling the reentrant profile140. The deposition method can include, but is not limited to,spray-coating, spin-coating, ink jet coating, or slot-die coating. Theuniformity of thickness of the layer of deposition inhibiting material41 is not critical. Next, a portion of the deposition inhibitingmaterial 41 is removed without removing all of the deposition inhibitingmaterial 41 from the reentrant profile. As shown in FIGS. 22 a and 22 b,the deposition inhibiting material 41 is photo-patternable, and thepatterning uses an optional low resolution optical mask 60. Optical mask60 has open areas 62 which allow light to pass, and dark areas(typically chrome) 64 which block light. The deposition inhibitingmaterial 41 is exposed to light through the mask as shown in FIG. 22 a.By exposing the top surface of the deposition inhibiting material to theappropriate wavelengths of light for the positive resist (depositioninhibiting material 41), portions of the deposition inhibiting material41 under the open areas 62 of the mask 60 are exposed while the otherportions of the deposition inhibiting material 41 within the reentrantprofile are shielded by the top portion of cap 30.

After exposure, the deposition inhibiting material 41 is developed, anda schematic representation of the resultant structure is shown in FIGS.23 a and 23 b. As shown in FIG. 23 a, the deposition inhibiting material41 is removed from locations not within the reentrant profile 140, anddeposition inhibiting material 41 remains in at least a portion of thereentrant profile 140. As shown in FIG. 23 b, the deposition inhibitor41 was also removed over via 70 in order to contact a portion of thegate layer 125. One preferred deposition-inhibiting material for thisexample embodiment is PMMA, poly(methyl methacrylate). In exampleembodiments of this type, the cap 30 can be chosen to block UV light, asis the case when the cap material is AZO or a metal. The conformalconductive gate layer can also serve as the UV-blocking material for thedeposition inhibitor in the reentrant profile. In other exampleembodiments, the deposition-inhibiting material can be eitherphoto-patternable or not photo-patternable, but is removed selectivelyby an energetic oxygen-containing process such that the reentrantprofile 140 retains some deposition inhibitor.

Next, a patterned electrically conductive material layer is depositedsuch that the electrically conductive material layer is not deposited onthe deposition inhibitor, as shown in FIGS. 24 a and 24 b. This isaccomplished by a selective area deposition, in which the substrate withdeposition inhibitor, as shown in FIGS. 23 a and 23 b, is subjected tothe conditions for uniform deposition and the conductive material onlydeposits where the deposition inhibitor 41 is not present. Theelectrically conductive material is preferably deposited using an ALDprocess, and more preferably using a spatial ALD process. As shown, thefirst electrode 180, the second electrode 170 and the third electrode175 are formed simultaneously. Additionally, the first electrode 180,the second electrode 170 and the third electrode 175 are in conformalcontact with the semiconductor layer 150.

The deposition inhibitor is optionally removed, and the resultantstructure is shown in FIGS. 25 a and 25 b. As shown, the structure isequivalent to the structure shown in FIGS. 1 a through 1 c and should beunderstood from the previous description.

There are number of processes included in the present invention forproviding a patterned inorganic thin film on the structural polymerlayer, as discussed with respect to Step 830 of FIG. 12. In one exampleembodiment, the patterned inorganic thin film is provided usingphotolithography. This embodiment can be better understood from FIGS. 26a and 26 b through 29 a and 29 b. As shown in FIGS. 26 a and 26 b, auniform inorganic thin film 55 is provided on the structural polymerlayer. The inorganic thin film 55 can be any inorganic material,including metals and oxides. Inorganic thin film 55 can be depositedusing any method, including evaporation, sputtering, coating, vaporprocesses including chemical vapor deposition and atomic layerdeposition. Inorganic thin film 55 is preferably deposited using atomiclayer deposition, and more preferably using spatial atomic layerdeposition. Next, a patterned resist layer 56 is formed on the inorganicthin film layer 55. The pattern resist layer can be formed usingphotolithography or using additive print methods, such as inkjetprinting or flexography.

Next, the inorganic thin film layer 55 is etched to form the inorganiccap 30 for the electrically conductive gate structure 120, as shown inFIGS. 28 a and 28 b. After etching the inorganic thin film layer 55, theresist 56 can be optionally removed as shown in FIGS. 29 a and 29 b. Inalternative example embodiments, the resist 56 can be removed during theformation of the polymeric post 20. The structure shown in FIGS. 29 aand 29 b is equivalent to the structure shown in FIG. 15 a.

As previously described, the present invention can include a conductivelayer 122 between the post 20 and the substrate 110 as shown in FIG. 7.In one example embodiment of the present invention, the patternedconductive layer 122 can be used to form the inorganic cap 30 of theelectrically conductive gate structure 120. Using the conductive layer122 to pattern the inorganic cap 30 results in a structure, as shown inFIG. 7, where the cap 30 and conductive layer 122 have the same patternand are aligned. In this example embodiment, the substrate and thestructural polymer layer are transparent to the wavelengths of lightused to expose a photo-patternable resist. The inorganic thin film isalso transparent, and is deposited on the structural polymer layer. Thephoto-patternable resist is deposited over the transparent inorganicthin film layer and is exposed through the substrate, structural polymerlayer and the transparent inorganic thin film layer to transfer thepattern of the (not transparent) patterned conductive layer to thephoto-patternable resist. The transparent inorganic thin film layer isthen etched to form the patterned inorganic cap 30.

This process is better understood through the descriptive build shown inFIGS. 30 a and 30 b through 33 a and 33 b. As shown in FIGS. 30 a and 30b, there is a patterned conductive layer 122 on the substrate 110surface, under the structural polymer layer 50, and the uniforminorganic film 55 is coated with a photo-patternable resist layer 57.The resist 57 is exposed through the substrate 110, and the patternedconductive layer 122 acts as a photomask such that the resist 57 is onlyexposed where the pattern conductive layer 122 does not block the light.In this embodiment, the substrate 110 and the structural polymer layer50 do not block the wavelength of light used to expose the resist 57,and are preferably transparent. The structure shown in FIGS. 31 a and 31b is the result of developing the exposed photo-patternable resist 57,resulting in resist pattern 56 that is in alignment with the conductivelayer 122.

As previously described, the uniform inorganic thin film layer is etchedto form the inorganic cap 30, as shown in FIGS. 32 a and 32 b. In thisembodiment, the cap 30 is in alignment with the conductive layer 122. Asshown in FIGS. 33 a and 33 b, the resist pattern 56 is removed prior toforming the post. In alternative embodiments, the resist 56 can beremoved during the formation of the polymeric post 20. The structureshown in FIG. 33 a is equivalent to the structure shown in FIG. 15 a,with the additional element conductive layer 122.

One of the advantages of the present invention is that all of thefunctional layers optionally can be patterned using selective areadeposition. In a preferred example embodiment, all of the functionallayers is patterned by printing a deposition inhibitor. A method offabricating a vertical thin film transistor by printing can beaccomplished by completing the following steps in order. First, asubstrate is provided. A structural polymer layer is provided on thesubstrate, and then a polymeric inhibitor is printed in a cap pattern onthe structural polymer layer. An inorganic thin film is deposited on thestructural polymer layer in areas where the polymeric inhibitor isabsent using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process to form apatterned inorganic layer having the cap pattern. Next, the polymericinhibitor, portions of the structural polymer layer between thepolymeric inhibitor and the substrate, and portions of the structuralpolymer layer between the patterned inorganic layer and the substrateare removed to form a structural polymer post having an inorganic capthat extends beyond an edge of the structural polymer post to define areentrant profile. A polymeric inhibitor is printed in a gate pattern onthe substrate, and a first conductive thin film is deposited on thesubstrate in areas where the polymeric inhibitor is absent using anatomic layer deposition (ALD) process to form a patterned conformalconductive gate layer having the gate pattern including in the reentrantprofile, and then the polymeric inhibitor is removed. Next, a polymericinhibitor is printed in a dielectric pattern on the substrate, adielectric thin film is deposited on the substrate in areas where thepolymeric inhibitor is absent using an atomic layer deposition (ALD)process to form a patterned conformal dielectric layer having thedielectric pattern on the gate layer, and then the polymeric inhibitoris removed. Next, a polymeric inhibitor is printed in a semiconductorpattern on the patterned conformal dielectric layer, a semiconductorthin film is deposited on the substrate in areas where the polymericinhibitor is absent using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process toform a patterned conformal semiconductor layer having the semiconductorpattern on the patterned conformal dielectric layer, and then thepolymeric inhibitor is removed. A polymeric inhibitor then is printed inan electrode pattern, the electrode pattern having an open area over aportion of the reentrant profile allowing the polymeric inhibitor towick along the reentrant profile in the open area. A second conductivethin film is deposited using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process inareas where the printed and wicked polymeric inhibitor is absent to forma first electrode in contact with a first portion of the semiconductorlayer located over the cap and a second electrode in contact with asecond portion of the semiconductor layer over the substrate adjacent tothe edge of the structural polymer post in the reentrant profile and notover the post. This process is preferably accomplished using a spatialatomic layer deposition process, and preferably using an atmosphericpressure atomic layer deposition process. By using an atmosphericpressure atomic layer deposition process to deposit the layers, aprinting process to define the pattern, and a coating process to providethe structural polymer, vertical transistors of the present inventioncan be formed without the use of vacuum processing steps.

A step diagram for a process using a printed deposition inhibitor toform the vertical transistors of the present invention is shown in FIG.34. As shown in FIG. 34, Step 810 and Step 820 are the same as shown inFIG. 12. Namely, in Step 810 a substrate is provided into the systemfollowed by providing a structural polymer layer on the substratesurface in Step 820. The provided substrate can have patterned layers.Providing the substrate can include providing a patterned conductivelayer on the substrate prior to providing the structural polymer layerin Step 820. In one example embodiment, the patterned conductive layercan be formed using the same printing and ALD process as is used to formthe other layers of the vertical transistor. This can be done byprinting a polymeric inhibitor in a pattern that overlaps the gatepattern on the substrate, depositing a third conductive thin film on thesubstrate in areas where the polymeric inhibitor is absent using anatomic layer deposition (ALD) process to form the patterned conductivelayer on the substrate, and removing the polymeric inhibitor prior todepositing the structural polymer layer.

Next, a patterned polymeric inhibitor layer is printed in a cap patternon the structural polymer layer in Step 832. Printing methods include,but are not limited to, inkjet, gravure, microcontact, or flexography.The polymeric inhibitor layer is preferably printed as an ink that isdried to form the polymeric inhibitor layer. A preferred polymericinhibitor is polyvinyl pyrrolidone. The patterned polymeric inhibitorlayer contains open areas where the inhibitor is absent; the cap patternis defined by an open area having no polymeric inhibitor.

In Step 834, an inorganic thin film is deposited using an atomic layerdeposition (ALD) process in areas where the polymeric inhibitor isabsent. In this step, the open areas which define the cap pattern arecoated with the inorganic thin film, while the areas covered by thepolymeric inhibitor receive little or no deposition. This step ispreferably completed using spatial ALD. It is preferred that theinorganic thin film be a dielectric material. Prior to depositing theinorganic thin film in Step 834, the surface of the structural polymerlayer can be optionally treated (not shown). The treatment is used toactivate the surface of the polymer to facilitate inorganic thin filmgrowth using an atomic layer deposition process, and is preferably donebefore printing the polymeric inhibitor. Treatment processes should beunderstood from the previous discussion and can include using UV-ozoneor plasma processes. The presence of the polymeric inhibitor causes theinorganic thin film layer to be deposited in a patterned manner, forminga patterned inorganic layer having the cap pattern during depositionStep 834.

In Step 842, the polymer post having an inorganic material cap isformed. Specifically, Step 842 forms the polymeric material post havingthe inorganic material cap by removing the polymeric inhibitor, portionsof the structural polymer layer between the polymeric inhibitor and thesubstrate, and portions of the structural polymer layer between thepatterned inorganic layer and the substrate to form a structural polymerpost having an inorganic cap that extends beyond an edge of thestructural polymer post to define a reentrant profile. In someembodiments, the cap extends beyond another edge of the post forminganother reentrant profile opposite the reentrant profile. The step ofremoving the structural polymer preferably removes the polymericinhibitor and the structural polymer using a single process. Since bothmaterials are polymeric, common etching processes can be used, includingexposing the substrate to a vapor reactant that causes removal of thepolymer layers. This removal can happen spontaneously upon reaction withthe vapor, resulting in the conversion of the inhibitor to a volatilespecies. Alternatively, the vapor exposure can react with the polymersconverting to another species or morphology that is then more easilyremovable with another process, such as a liquid process. The vaporexposure can include forms of energy to promote the process. Theseinclude light exposure, or arcs, or plasmas. Plasmas include plasmas ofvarious species including oxygen, chlorine, or fluorine. Plasmas createdwith these materials or with precursors that produce these materials areincluded in the present invention. The removal of portions of thepolymeric inhibitor and the structural polymer layer can be accomplishedby a single exposure to highly reactive oxygen processes including aUV-ozone process (UVO) or O2 plasma. The highly reactive oxygenprocesses can be a batch process using a chamber based tool orcontinuous process using web process tools. The highly reactive oxygenprocesses can be at sub-atmospheric (vacuum) pressure or atmosphericpressure.

After the post and cap structure has been formed, a patterned gate layeris formed in Steps 852, 853 and 855. In Step 852, a polymeric inhibitoris printed in a gate pattern. The gate pattern includes open areas wherethe gate layer will be deposited. The open areas of the gate pattern areat least over a portion of the post and cap. Next, a first conductivethin film is deposited using ALD in Step 853. The open areas of the gatepattern are coated with the first conductive thin film, while the areascovered by the polymeric inhibitor receive little or no deposition. Thepresence of the polymeric inhibitor causes the first conductive thinfilm layer to be deposited in a patterned manner, and forms a patternedconformal conductive gate layer having the gate pattern, including inthe reentrant profile during deposition Step 853. Since the open area ofthe gate pattern is over the post and cap, the reentrant profile is freeof polymeric inhibitor and is conformally coated with the conductivethin film during the ALD process. As patterned, the gate layer covers atleast some portion of the edges of the post formed in Step 842. Prior toforming the gate layer, the post and cap structure, as well as portionsof the substrate, can optionally be covered with a another conformaldielectric layer (not shown). The conformal dielectric layer isdeposited at least on the cap and on the edges of the post beforeforming the patterned conformal conductive gate layer, and is preferablydeposited uniformly. After forming the conformal conductive gate layer,the polymeric inhibitor is removed in Step 855. Specifically, Step 855removes the polymeric inhibitor that was printed in the gate patternduring Step 852.

A patterned conformal dielectric layer is formed over and in contactwith the gate layer in Steps 862 and 863. In Step 862, a polymericinhibitor is printed in a dielectric pattern. The dielectric patternincludes open areas where the dielectric layer will be deposited. Theopen areas of the dielectric pattern are at least over a portion of thepost and cap, over the gate layer. Next, a dielectric thin film isdeposited using ALD in Step 863. The open areas of the dielectricpattern are coated with the dielectric thin film, while the areascovered by the polymeric inhibitor receive little or no deposition. Thepresence of the polymeric inhibitor causes the dielectric thin film tobe deposited in a patterned manner, and forms a patterned conformaldielectric layer having the dielectric pattern on the gate layer. Sincethe open areas of the dielectric pattern are over the post and cap, thegate layer within the reentrant profile is free of polymeric inhibitorand is conformally coated with the dielectric thin film during the ALDprocess. Preferably the dielectric layer is an inorganic thin filmdielectric layer. Typically, the dielectric pattern additionallycontains areas having the polymer inhibitor over the gate layer notwithin the reentrant profile to provide vias to the gate layer formaking contact in future processing steps. After forming the conformalpatterned dielectric layer, the polymeric inhibitor is removed in Step865. Specifically Step 865 removes the polymeric inhibitor that wasprinted in the gate pattern during Step 862. The patterned conformaldielectric layer can be a single layer, or be a multilayer stack. Inembodiments where the patterned conformal dielectric layer is amultilayer stack, the layers of the multilayer stack can be depositedusing a single printed polymeric material layer, or alternatively theSteps 862, 863 and 865 can be repeated to build up the patternedconformal dielectric layer having multiple dielectric thin film layers.

Next, the patterned semiconductor layer is formed in Steps 872 and 873.In Step 872, a polymeric inhibitor is printed in a semiconductorpattern. The semiconductor pattern includes open areas where thesemiconductor layer will be deposited. The open areas of thesemiconductor pattern are at least over a portion of the post and cap,over the gate layer, and over the dielectric layer. Next, asemiconductor thin film is deposited using ALD in Step 873. The openareas of the semiconductor pattern are coated with the semiconductorthin film, while the areas covered by the polymeric inhibitor receivelittle or no deposition. The presence of the polymeric inhibitor causesthe semiconductor thin film to be deposited in a patterned manner, andforms a patterned conformal semiconductor layer having the semiconductorpattern on the dielectric layer over the gate layer. Since the openareas of the semiconductor pattern are over the post, cap, gate layer,and dielectric layer within the reentrant profile, the area is free ofpolymeric inhibitor and is conformally coated with the semiconductorthin film during the ALD process. Preferably, the semiconductor layer isan inorganic semiconductor thin film layer, for instance ZnO or dopedZnO. The semiconductor layer is in contact with the dielectric layer atleast over a portion of the edge of the post in the reentrant profilehaving the patterned gate layer. After deposition of the semiconductorthin film, the polymeric inhibitor can be removed, if necessary, asshown in Step 875.

To complete the vertical transistor, the source and drain electrodes aredeposited simultaneously. To accomplish this via a printing process, adeposition inhibiting material is formulated into an inhibitor ink forprinting which will wick into the reentrant profile due to capillaryaction. The first and second electrodes of the vertical transistor ofthe present invention are formed as described in Steps 882 and 884. InStep 882, a polymeric inhibitor is printed in an electrode pattern. Theelectrode pattern includes open areas where the conductive thin filmlayer will be deposited. The open area of the electrode pattern is overa portion of the reentrant profile, allowing the polymeric inhibitor towick along the reentrant profile in the open area. The open area of theelectrode pattern is over a portion of the post, cap, gate, anddielectric layer.

A patterned polymeric inhibitor is printed such that the inhibitor wicksalong the reentrant profile as shown in Step 882. The inhibitor ink hasa surface tension and a viscosity associated with it. The inhibitor inkis deposited in a patterned way, adjacent to the reentrant profiles ofthe electrically conductive gate structure such that the inhibitor inkis drawn into the reentrant profiles by capillary action, also known aswicking. Printing methods include, but are not limited to, inkjet,gravure, microcontact, or flexography. The uniformity of thickness ofthe inhibitor layer is not critical.

The distance that a liquid is moved by capillary action depends onmultiple factors, including the chemical nature and wetting propertiesof the substrate surface, the surface tension and viscosity of themoving liquid, and the drying rate of the liquid. Conditions andpatterns are chosen in Step 882 such that the inhibitor ink fills thereentrant profiles of the electrically conductive gate structure over adistance sufficient to separate the second electrode from the firstelectrode and define the width of the channel of the verticaltransistor. The electrode pattern preferably has portions where thepolymeric inhibitor is printed over the post and cap. In a preferredexample embodiment, the electrode pattern chosen consists of an openarea sized to be the desired width of the channel, which can be centeredover the electrically conductive gate structure (post, cap and gatelayer). The polymeric inhibitor ink from the edges of the open area ofthe electrode wick into the reentrant profile from each side and meet inthe center region to fill the reentrant profile that lies within theopen area of the pattern. The ink is then dried to leave depositioninhibitor in the reentrant profile.

Next, a second conductive thin film is deposited using ALD in Step 884.The polymeric inhibitor that wicked into the reentrant profile withinthe open area of the electrode pattern prevents deposition within thereentrant profile but allows deposition in the other portions of theopen area which are free of polymeric inhibitor. The open areas whichare free of polymeric inhibitor of the electrode pattern are coated withthe conductive thin film (areas where the printed and wicked polymericinhibitor is absent), while the areas covered by the polymeric inhibitorreceive little or no deposition. The presence of the polymeric inhibitorcauses the conductive thin film to be deposited in a patterned manner,and forms a first electrode in contact with a first portion of thesemiconductor layer located over the cap and a second electrode incontact with a second portion of the semiconductor layer over thesubstrate adjacent to the edge of the structural polymer post in thereentrant profile and not over the post.

The process flow described in FIG. 34 can be better understood throughthe descriptive process build shown in FIGS. 35 a and 35 b through 51 aand 51 b. Steps 810 and 820 should be understood from previousdescriptions where a structural polymer 50 is provided on a substrate110. As shown in FIGS. 35 a and 35 b, a patterned inhibitor layer 70then is printed on the surface of the structural polymer layer 50 in acap pattern as described in Step 832 of FIG. 34. As discussed above, thesurface of the structural polymer layer 50 can be treated prior toprinting the patterned inhibitor layer 70. Patterned inhibitor layer 70contains regions 72 where the inhibitor material is not present.

Next, FIGS. 36 a and 36 b show the result of Step 834, where aninorganic thin film has been deposited by an Atomic Layer Deposition(ALD) process in an area of the polymeric inhibitor layer having the cappattern where the polymeric inhibitor is absent 72. As shown, thisresults in patterned deposition of the inorganic thin film to form apatterned inorganic layer having the cap (cap 30) and little to nodeposition of the inorganic thin film in areas covered by the printedpolymeric inhibitor 71.

In Step 842 of FIG. 34, the polymer post 20 having an inorganic materialcap 30 is formed. As noted above, forming the polymeric material posthaving the inorganic material cap is done by removing the polymericinhibitor, portions of the structural polymer layer between thepolymeric inhibitor and the substrate, and portions of the structuralpolymer layer between the patterned inorganic layer and the substrate toform a structural polymer post having an inorganic cap that extendsbeyond an edge of the structural polymer post to define a reentrantprofile. FIGS. 37 a and 37 b show the result of Step 842. When formingthe post, portions of the structural polymer layer 50 not under theinorganic thin film material cap 30 are removed, typically, using anetching process. When forming the post 20 from the structure shown inFIGS. 37 a and 37 b, it is preferred that removal of the structuralpolymer layer 50 occurs in the same process as the removal of depositioninhibitor 71. The structural polymer 50 is additionally removed fromunderneath the edges of the inorganic cap 30, forming a reentrantprofile 140. The resultant post has the same height 45 as the thicknessof the structural polymer layer 50, and a width 25 that is less than thewidth of the inorganic cap 30.

FIGS. 38 a and 38 b through FIGS. 40 a and 40 b illustrate one exampleembodiment of Steps 852, 853 and 855 of FIG. 34 for forming a patternedconformal conductive gate layer at least on the edges of the post and aportion over the substrate not over the post using a printed depositioninhibitor. In FIGS. 38 a and 38 b, a printed polymeric inhibitor layer73 is printed over the substrate. The printed polymeric inhibitor is ina gate pattern layer 73 which contains regions 74 where the polymericinhibitor is not present. Regions 74 of the gate pattern are arranged sothat at least a portion of the post and cap are within the open regions74. FIGS. 39 a and 39 b show the result Step 853, after the firstconductive inorganic thin film gate is deposited by an Atomic LayerDeposition (ALD) process on the substrate which results in patterneddeposition of the patterned gate layer 125 and little to no depositionof the inorganic thin film in areas covered by printed polymericinhibitor 73. The structure shown in FIGS. 40 a and 40 b depicts theresult of Step 855 after the printed polymeric inhibitor 73 is removed.In some example embodiments, it is desirable to add an additionalconformal dielectric layer into the VTFT structure. This can beaccomplished by depositing another dielectric thin film on the patternedconformal gate layer in areas where the printed polymeric inhibitor isabsent using ALD after depositing the first conductive thin film andbefore removing the polymeric inhibitor having the gate pattern. In thisoptional step, another patterned conformal dielectric layer is formed onthe patterned conformal gate layer having the gate pattern (not shown).

FIGS. 41 a and 41 b through FIGS. 43 a and 43 b illustrate one exampleembodiment of Steps 862, 863 and 865 described in FIG. 34 for forming apatterned insulating layer. As used herein, the patterned insulatinglayer 130 is an alternative equivalent phrase to indicate a patternedconformal dielectric layer. In FIGS. 41 a and 41 b, a printed polymericinhibitor layer 75 is printed having a dielectric pattern. The printedpolymeric inhibitor layer 75 contains regions 76 where the inhibitormaterial is not present. Regions 76 of the dielectric pattern arearranged so that the post and cap are within the open regions 76. FIGS.42 a and 42 b show the structure of Step 863 after the inorganic thinfilm insulating layer 130 is deposited by an Atomic Layer Deposition(ALD) process on the substrate, resulting in patterned deposition of thepatterned insulating layer 130 and with little to no deposition of theinorganic thin film in areas covered by deposition inhibitor 75. Thestructure shown in FIGS. 43 a and 43 b depicts the result of Step 863after the polymeric inhibitor layer 75 is removed. The process shown inFIGS. 41 a and 41 b through 43 a and 43 b can be repeated multiple timesto create a multilayer dielectric stack for the formation of a patternedinsulating layer 130 as described above. As shown, a via is left throughthe dielectric down to the conductive gate material layer, by region 70of the dielectric pattern of the printed polymeric inhibitor layer 75.

FIGS. 44 a and 44 b through FIGS. 46 a and 46 b illustrate oneembodiment of Steps 872, 873 and 875 in FIG. 34, forming a patternedconformal semiconductor material layer on the insulating layer. In FIGS.44 a and 44 b, a polymeric inhibitor is printed in a semiconductorpattern to form the printed patterned inhibitor layer 77 shown. Theprinted polymeric inhibitor layer 77 contains regions 78 where theinhibitor material is not present. Regions 78 of the semiconductorpattern are arranged so that at least a portion of the post and cap arewithin the open regions 78. FIGS. 45 a and 45 b show the result of Step873 after the semiconductor thin film layer is deposited by an AtomicLayer Deposition (ALD) process on the substrate, resulting in patterneddeposition of the patterned conformal semiconductor layer 150 and littleto no deposition of the inorganic thin film in areas covered bydeposition inhibitor 77. The structure shown in FIGS. 46 a and 46 bdepicts the result of Step 875 after the printed polymeric inhibitorlayer 77 is removed.

In some example embodiments, it is desirable to control the interfacebetween the dielectric layer 130 and the semiconductor layer 150 byusing a buffer layer 155. The buffer layer 155 is an optional dielectriclayer which has the same pattern as the semiconductor layer, and islocated between the dielectric layer and the semiconductor layer. Thebuffer layer 155 can be formed after printing the polymeric inhibitor inthe semiconductor pattern and before depositing the semiconductor thinfilm, by depositing another dielectric thin film on the patternedconformal dielectric layer in areas where the polymeric inhibitor isabsent using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process to form anotherpatterned conformal dielectric layer on the patterned conformaldielectric layer and having the semiconductor pattern. The result offorming the optional buffer layer 155 prior to depositing thesemiconductor thin film is shown in FIG. 45 c.

FIGS. 47 a through 47 c illustrate the use of a printed polymericinhibitor to form the source and drain of transistor 100. Here apolymeric inhibitor is printed in an electrode pattern such that theinhibitor wicks along the reentrant profile as described in Step 882 ofFIG. 34. FIG. 47 a shows the electrode patterned to be printed, havingtwo open areas 80 and 60. Typically, area 60 is used to add access tothe conductive gate layer 125 and corresponds to the optional via 70 ofFIG. 42 b, and is optional. Open area 80 crosses over the electricallyconductive gate structure 120 pattern, including post 20 and cap 30. Asdesigned, open area 80 contains no printed inhibitor regions. FIGS. 47 band 47 c show the result of printing the polymeric inhibitor in theelectrode pattern over a structure with reentrant profile 140. FIG. 47 cis a cross-sectional view of FIG. 47 b taken along the line A-A′.Although the open area 80 is uniform and free of directly printedinhibitor, the liquid inhibitor ink wicks, or moves through capillaryforces, into the reentrant profile 140. The open area 80 is shown toequally cross both sides of the post and cap structure so that ink wicksinto both reentrant profiles. Alternatively open area 80 of theelectrode pattern can be designed so that ink will wick into only onereentrant profile, and can be designed such that the first electrode isformed to extend beyond the other reentrant profile.

The fluid properties of the deposition inhibitor ink will determine thewidth of transistor channel that can be fabricated. Additionally, theseproperties in combination with the surface properties of the underlyinglayer(s) will determine the channel length as the liquid will alsospread out on to the substrate surface. The method of the presentinvention has a benefit of forming channels whose length is shorter thanwhat is possible by simply printing the inhibitor ink on to a planargate structure to define a channel. Stated another way, the verticaltransistors formed by wicking the printed ink into the reentrant profilewill have a channel length which is shorter than the printed featuresize of the electrode pattern. The channel length is also preferablyshorter than the smallest obtainable feature size of the printingtechnology used to print the polymeric inhibitor in the electrodepattern.

FIGS. 48 a, 48 b, 48 c and 49 a, 49 b, 49 c further serve to explain howthe electrodes are formed from a pattern with a single open area. FIG.48 a shows a simple two line pattern 144. FIG. 48 b shows schematicallythe placement of individual drops 145 using the pattern of FIG. 48 awith an inkjet printer. FIG. 48 c illustrates the pattern of FIG. 48 aprinted with using an inkjet printer where the printed inhibitor hasinteracted with the substrate. The result shown can be obtained when,for example, the surface of the substrate 110 and electricallyconductive gate structure 121 are hydrophilic, and the ink is aqueousbased. The relative surface energy of the structure and ink interfaceresults in the ink traveling along the three sided capillary formed bythe electrically conductive gate structure 121. FIGS. 49 a through 49 care cross-sectional views taken along the lines A-A′, B-B′ and C-C′ ofFIG. 48 c, respectively.

FIGS. 50 a and 50 b show the results of one example embodiment of Step884 in which a second conductive inorganic thin film is deposited usingan atomic layer deposition process where the patterned polymericinhibitor is absent. The inorganic thin film conductive layer isdeposited by an Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) process on the substrateshown in FIGS. 47 b and 47 c, resulting in patterned deposition of thefirst electrode 180, the second electrode 170 and the third electrode175. The structure shown in FIGS. 51 a and 51 b depicts the result ofStep 884 after the deposition inhibitor material has been optionallyremoved. The resultant vertical transistors 100 and 200 are equivalentin structure and operation to those in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b.

As described, any of the steps of printing the polymeric inhibitor canbe completed by printing with an inkjet printing process or aflexographic printing process. In a preferred embodiment, all of thesteps of printing the polymeric inhibitor are accomplished using thesame printing process. In some example embodiments, the polymericinhibitor printed can be a water soluble polymer. A preferred watersoluble inhibitor is polyvinyl pyrrolidone. In a preferred exampleembodiment, the same polymeric inhibitor is used as an ink for all ofthe printing steps of the present method. It is also preferred that theALD process be a spatial ALD process.

The process of the present invention can be used to form two verticaltransistors over an electrically conductive gate structure, or a singlevertical transistor over an electrically conductive gate structure. Asingle vertical transistor of the present invention includes a substrateand a polymeric material post on the substrate. The post has a heightdimension extending away from the substrate to a top and a first edgeand a second edge along the height dimension. An inorganic material capis on the top of the post, the cap covering the top of the post andextending beyond the first edge and the second edge of the post todefine a first reentrant profile and a second reentrant profile,respectively. A conformal conductive material gate layer is over theedge of the post in the first reentrant profile. A conformal insulatingmaterial layer is on the gate layer in the first reentrant profile. Aconformal semiconductor material layer is on the insulating materiallayer in the first reentrant profile. A first electrode located is incontact with a first portion of the semiconductor layer over the cap,the first electrode extending continuously to a location adjacent to thesecond reentrant profile. A second electrode is located in contact witha second portion of the semiconductor layer over the substrate and notover the post, and adjacent to the first reentrant profile such that adistance between the edge of the first electrode and the closest edge ofthe second electrode is greater than zero when measured orthogonally tothe substrate surface. The first electrode and the second electrodedefine a transistor having a channel in the semiconductor layer betweenthe first electrode and the second electrode.

For clarity and referring to FIGS. 52 a and 52 b, an example embodimentof a single vertical transistor 106 formed over a polymer post 20 andinorganic cap 30 is shown. The elements of the vertical thin filmtransistor 106 shown in FIG. 52 a are the same as those for verticalthin film transistors 100 and 200 and should be understood from thedescriptions of FIGS. 1 a and 1 b. The vertical thin film transistor 106shown in FIG. 52 a is a single transistor formed over a post 20, suchthat the first electrode 182 is over the cap 30, the post 20 and incontact with the portion of the semiconductor layer on the substrate onthe side opposite the post 20 from the second electrode 170. Thesemiconductor channel as defined by the first electrode 182 and thesecond electrode 170 contains a portion of the semiconductor layerincluding the portion in the reentrant profile 140, and the distancebetween the portion of the first electrode 182 and the second electrode170 which define the channel of transistor 106 is greater than zero whenmeasured orthogonal to the substrate surface. As shown, the firstelectrode 182 is located in contact with a first portion of thesemiconductor layer 150 over the cap 30 and extends to conformally coverthe second reentrant 145 profile. The distance that the first electrode182 extends beyond the second reentrant profile 145 is limited only bywhat is practically useful. In some embodiments, a conformal dielectricmaterial layer is located on the cap 30, the edges 40 of the post 20,and at least a portion of the substrate 110, the conformal dielectriclayer being located at least between the gate layer 125 and the post 20.This embodiment should be understood from the vertical transistordescription discussed above.

Single vertical transistor embodiments, for example, including the oneshown in FIGS. 52 a and 52 b, can be formed using any of the previouslydiscussed polymeric material post 20 and inorganic cap 30 structures,and as discussed, it is preferred that the height of the post 20 is lessthan or equal to 10 microns. The first electrode 182 and the secondelectrode 170 are formed simultaneously and have the same materialcomposition and have primarily the same layer thickness. In someembodiments, the first electrode 182 and second electrode 170 aretransparent conductive oxides. In other embodiments, the first electrode182 and second electrode 170 are formed by a line-of-sight depositionresulting in a structure where the first electrode 182 and the secondelectrode 170 are vertically aligned. The first electrode 182 and thesecond electrode can be formed using a wicked deposition inhibitor andthe length of the channel of transistor 106 varies along the width ofthe channel.

In some example embodiments of single vertical transistors, it ispreferable to only form the conductive gate layer 125 in regions closeto the first reentrant profile in order to reduce or avoid parasiticcapacitance issues between the gate layer 125 and the first electrode182. As shown in FIGS. 53 a and 53 b, the conductive gate layer 125 canbe patterned to provide a gate for the first reentrant profile 140, butnot the second reentrant profile. Similarly, the semiconductor layer canbe patterned so that it is only present within the first reentrantprofile 140, and not the second reentrant profile. The process offorming the vertical transistor 106 of FIGS. 52 a and 52 b, and verticaltransistor 107 of FIGS. 53 a and 53 b is the same as those processespreviously discussed. The patterns for each layer are chosenappropriately to form the desired structures. In some embodiments ofsingle vertical transistors, there is another conductive material layerpositioned at least under a portion of the polymeric material post 20 inthe region of the first reentrant profile 140 and in electrical contactwith the conformal conductive material gate layer 125.

In other example embodiments of single vertical transistors, it ispreferable to fill in the second reentrant profile 145 formed by thepost 20 and cap 30 to more easily form vertical transistor 107. As shownin FIGS. 54 a and 54 b, a filler material 65 can be added in the secondreentrant profile of vertical transistor 108 to increase the likelihoodthat that the first electrode 182 will be continuously connected fromthe region over the cap to the region adjacent to the reentrant profileand not over the cap. In some embodiments, the filler material 65 is astructural polymer. In other example embodiments, filler material 65 caninclude multiple materials such as, for example, polymers and inorganicmaterials. The filler material can be an inorganic material, or aninorganic-organic composite material. In some embodiments, the fillermaterial is formed from multiple materials which are present in distinctlayers of polymer material and inorganic material. One example of thisstructure includes a filler material 65 of structural polymer patternedusing an inorganic hard mask, which results in a filler material havinga polymer layer under an inorganic layer. In other example embodiments,the filler material 65 and the post 20 and cap 30 are covered with aconformal dielectric material layer. In these embodiments, the conformaldielectric material layer is on the cap 30, on the edges 40 of the post20, and on the filler material 65; the conformal dielectric layer islocated at least between the gate layer 125 and the post 20 and betweenthe filler material 65 and the first electrode 182.

Forming a single vertical transistor, such as VTFT 106 of FIGS. 52 a and52 b, or VTFT 107 as shown in FIGS. 53 a and 53 b, can be done using theprocess flow describe in FIG. 12 or FIG. 34 by choosing the appropriatepatterns for each of the layers—the gate layer, the dielectric layer,the semiconductor layer and the electrode layer, where the electrodelayer pattern extends beyond the second reentrant profile. Depositingthe filler into the second reentrant profile can be done using a numberof processes, including uniform coating and then patterning and printingto allow a filler material to wick into the reentrant profile. FIG. 55describes the steps of one embodiment of the present invention using astructural polymeric material filler which is patterned using aninorganic thin film layer as a hard mask to form a single verticaltransistor where the filler material includes multiple materials. Themultiple materials include distinct layers of polymer material andinorganic material as the filler material of the vertical transistor. Asshown in FIG. 55, in Step 950 the substrate is coated with a fillermaterial after the structural polymer post with the inorganic cap hasbeen formed. This step can occur either before or after forming theconductive gate layer. Next, in Step 960, a polymeric inhibitor isprinted on the filler material in a filler pattern having an open areaover the other reentrant profile. In Step 970, an inorganic thin film isdeposited on the filler material where the polymer inhibitor is absentusing an atomic layer deposition process to form a patterned inorganicfiller layer having the filler pattern. In Step 980, the polymericinhibitor and portions of the filler material not under the patternedinorganic filler layer are removed. Removing the polymeric inhibitor andportions of the filler material preferably occurs simultaneously.

The formation of a patterned fill material for a single verticaltransistor formed using the process flow of FIG. 55 can be understoodthrough the partial descriptive process build shown in FIGS. 56 a and 56b through 62 a and 62 b. In FIGS. 56 a and 56 b a substrate having thepost 20, cap 30, and patterned conformal conductive material gate layer125 on at least one edge of the post and over a portion of the substratet are provided. In one embodiment, this structure is formed using Steps810 through 855 of FIG. 34. In FIGS. 57 a and 57 b, a filler material 65is coated as described in Step 950. The deposition method can include,but is not limited to, spray-coating, spin-coating, ink-jet coating, orslot-die coating. The uniformity of thickness of the layer is notcritical. The filler material 65 fills the reentrant profile 145opposite the reentrant profile 140 having the conformal conductive gatelayer 125. The results of Step 960 in which a polymeric inhibitor isprinted in a filler pattern, are shown in FIGS. 58 a and 58 b. Thepolymeric inhibitor layer 61 is printed in a filler pattern, andcontains regions 62 where the inhibitor material is not present. Asshown, the filler pattern is arranged so that at least a portion of thesecond reentrant profile is within the open regions 62 and preferablysuch that the first reentrant profile 140 is covered with the printedpatterned inhibitor.

FIGS. 59 a and 59 b show the result of Step 970, after the inorganicthin film layer 151 is deposited by an Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD)process, to form a patterned inorganic filler layer 151 having thefiller pattern. There is little to no deposition of the inorganic thinfilm in areas covered by deposition inhibitor 61. The patternedinorganic filler layer 151 is preferably a dielectric thin film. Next,the polymeric inhibitor 61 and the filler material 65 not protected bythe inorganic filler layer 151 are removed. The processes useful forremoving the polymeric inhibitor and the filler layer are the same asthose described above for forming the post and cap. The structure shownin FIGS. 60 a and 60 b depicts the result of Step 980 after both thepolymeric inhibitor layer 61 and the unprotected filler material 65 areremoved.

To further aid in understanding how the filler material can beintegrated into a full vertical transistor, the steps for forming theinsulating layer 150 are shown. In FIGS. 61 a and 61 b, an inhibitorlayer 75 is printed in a dielectric patterned as described in Step 862of FIG. 34. The dielectric pattern includes open areas where thedielectric layer will be deposited. The open areas of the dielectricpattern are at least over a portion of the post and cap, over the gatelayer. Next, a dielectric thin film is deposited using ALD as describedin Step 863. The open areas of the dielectric pattern are coated withthe dielectric thin film, while the areas covered by the polymericinhibitor receive little or no deposition. The presence of the polymericinhibitor causes the dielectric thin film to be deposited in a patternedmanner, and forms a patterned conformal dielectric layer having thedielectric pattern on the gate layer. As shown in FIGS. 62 a and 62 b,the dielectric layer 150 also serves to encapsulate the filler material,covering the second reentrant profile so that, when forming the firstelectrode in later steps, it is easier to ensure that the firstelectrode can extend beyond the second reentrant profile 145 withoutbeing broken.

The remainder of the steps for forming a vertical transistor using theprocess of FIG. 55 can be understood from previous descriptions of theprocess of FIG. 34. In some embodiments, the first electrode 182 isformed to extend beyond the second reentrant profile. The extension ofthe first electrode allows for contact to be made to both the source anddrain of the transistor at the level of the substrate. Alternativeembodiments of the present invention include depositing the fillermaterial 65 in the first reentrant profile prior to depositing theconformal conductive gate material layer 125. In one embodiment wherethe filler 65 is deposited prior to forming gate layer 125, thedielectric layer 151 is conformally coated over the post 20, cap 30 andfiller material 65. Using filler material 65 to form the single verticaltransistor with a polymeric post 20 and cap 30 prevents the depositioninhibitor from wicking into the filled reentrant profile, allowing theformation of an electrode that spans the cap and connects down to thelevel of substrate.

The post and cap structure also can be used to form two independenttransistors over a common post and cap. Each transistor formed over thepost and cap will have its own gate, source, drain and semiconductorportion. Using the post and cap structure to form two independenttransistors has an advantage in circuit design and layout. Generallydescribed, a device of the present invention including two independentlyoperable vertical transistors includes a substrate and a polymericmaterial post on the substrate. The post has a height dimensionextending away from the substrate to a top, the post having a first edgeand a second edge located opposite the first edge along the heightdimension. An inorganic material cap is on the top of the post, the capcovering the top of the post, the cap extending beyond the first edge todefine a first reentrant profile and extending beyond the second edge todefine a second reentrant profile. A conformal conductive gate layer hastwo portions. A first portion of the conformal conductive gate layerdefining a first gate is located in at least the first reentrantprofile. A second portion of the conformal conductive gate layer definesa second gate that is electrically independent from the first gate andis located in at least the second reentrant profile. A conformalelectrically insulating layer maintains the first and second reentrantprofiles and is in contact with the first gate and the second gate andat least a portion of the substrate. A conformal semiconductor layerincludes a first portion and a second portion. The first portion of thesemiconductor layer maintains the first reentrant profile and is incontact with the conformal electrically insulating layer that is incontact with the first gate, and the second portion of the semiconductorlayer maintains the second reentrant profile and is in contact with theconformal electrically insulating layer that is in contact with thesecond gate. The first portion of the semiconductor layer and the secondportion of the semiconductor layer are electrically independent fromeach other. A first electrode and a second electrode are associated withthe first gate. The first electrode is in contact with the first portionof the semiconductor layer and located adjacent to the first reentrantprofile. A second electrode is over the inorganic material cap and incontact with the first portion of the semiconductor layer. The firstelectrode and the second electrode define a first channel associatedwith the first gate of a first transistor. A third electrode and afourth electrode are associated with the second gate. The thirdelectrode is in contact with the second portion of the semiconductorlayer and located adjacent to the second reentrant profile. A fourthelectrode is over the inorganic material cap and in contact with thesecond portion of the semiconductor layer. The third electrode and thefourth electrode define a second channel associated with the second gateof a second transistor.

Referring to FIGS. 63 a and 63 b, a device of the present inventionincluding two independently operable vertical transistors is shown. Aschematic cross-sectional view of a vertical transistors 113 and 213 ofthe present invention is shown FIG. 63 a, taken along the line A-A′ ofthe plan view shown in FIG. 63 b. As shown in FIG. 63 a, TFTs 113 and213 are each a vertical transistor structure, where the vertical portionis defined by the reentrant profiles 140,145 respectively formed by thepost 20 and cap 30. The electrically conductive gate layer 125 isdivided to have two portions so that vertical transistors 113 and 213can be independently gated. The electrically conductive gate structureshown in FIG. 63 a functions the same as the electrically conductivegate structures 120 shown in FIGS. 9 through 11 where there are twoportions of the conductive gate layer 125, and should be understood fromprevious descriptions. The first and second portions of the gate layer125 define first and second gates 126,127 that are within the first andsecond reentrant profiles 140,145 respectively. There is an insulatinglayer 330 in contact with the electrically conductive gate layer 125 andthe substrate 110, and a semiconductor layer 350 is in contact with theinsulating layer 330. As shown, the semiconductor layer 350 has beenpatterned so that it does not extend between the first and secondreentrant profiles 140,145 over the cap, so that transistor 113 canremain electrically isolated from transistor 213.

A first electrode 370 and the third electrode 375 are located adjacentto the first and second reentrant profiles 340, 345, respectively. Thevertical transistors 113 and 213 do not share a common electrode overthe cap; instead, there is a second electrode 380 and a fourth electrode385 in conformal contact with a third portion and a fourth portion ofthe semiconductor layer 350 on the top of the electrically conductivegate structure. The first electrode 370 and the second electrode 380 arevertically spaced due to the height of the post 20, and similarly thethird electrode 375 and fourth electrode 385 are also spaced vertically.As shown, the first electrode 370 and the second electrode 380 definethe ends of a first channel of a first transistor 113, while the thirdelectrode 375 and the fourth electrode 385 define the ends of a secondchannel of a second transistor 213. The operation of verticaltransistors 113 and 213 is identical to the individual operation ofvertical transistors 100 and 200 and should be understood from theprevious description. Preferably, the first electrode, the secondelectrode, the third electrode, and the fourth electrode are formedsimultaneously and have the same material composition and layerthickness, and in some embodiments are transparent conductive oxides.

The structure shown in FIGS. 63 a and 63 b can be formed using aselective area deposition process to pattern the first, second, thirdand fourth electrodes 370, 380, 375, 385. A first line extending betweenthe ends of the first channel is shown in FIG. 63 c by line C1-C1′. Asecond line extending between the ends of the second channel is shown inFIG. 63 c by line C2-C2′. As is clearly evident in FIG. 63 c, the firstline C1-C1′ is not parallel to the second line C2-C2′. As such, in oneembodiment of the present invention the first electrode 370 and thesecond electrode 380 define ends of the first channel, and the thirdelectrode 375 and the fourth electrode 385 define ends of the secondchannel. A first line extending between the ends of the first channel isnot parallel to a second line extending between the ends of the secondchannel. Vertical transistors having this relationship between theirchannels cannot be formed over a broad area by line-of-sight depositiontechniques such as thermal evaporation of metals.

In some embodiments, the electrically insulating material layer 330 hasa uniform thickness. In other embodiments, the first portion of thesemiconductor material layer 350 and the second portion of thesemiconductor material layer 350 have a uniform thickness. Substrate 110can be flexible as described above. In some example embodiments, thereis a conformal dielectric material layer on the cap 30, the edges 40 ofthe post 20, and at least a portion of the substrate 110. The conformaldielectric layer is located at least between the first gate 126 and thepost 20, and the second gate 127 and the 20 post. As shown in FIG. 11,the two independently operable transistors can have another conductivematerial layer 122 positioned at least under a portion of the polymericmaterial post 20 and in electrical contact with the first gate 126, andnot in contact with the second gate 127. As previously discussed, theconductive layer 122 is patterned to be discontinuous, so that there isno connection under the post 20, and so that the conductive layer has afirst and second portion associated with the first and second gates. Inthis structure, the gates remain separate, and each transistor 113 and213 can be independently operated.

The use of polymeric post 20 and cap 30 enables the formation of novelvertical transistor from novel processes. The post 20 and cap 30 alsomore generally provide a structure which allows for the formation ofelectrodes that are vertically separated due to the height of the post20. According to an aspect of the invention, a vertically separatedelectrode structure includes a substrate and a polymeric material poston the substrate. The post has a height dimension extending away fromthe substrate to a top defined by a length dimension and a widthdimension over the substrate, and edges along the height dimension. Aninorganic material cap is on the top of the post, the cap covering thetop of the post in the length dimension and the width dimension of thepost, the cap extending beyond the edges of the post in at least thewidth dimension to define a first reentrant profile. A first electrodeis located over the cap. A second electrode is located over thesubstrate and not over the post and adjacent to the reentrant profilesuch that a distance between the first electrode and second electrode isgreater than zero when measured orthogonally to the substrate surface.The first electrode and second electrode have the same materialcomposition and layer thickness.

As discussed previously, the simultaneous formation of the source anddrain electrodes of the vertical transistors of the present invention isone use of the formation of vertically separated electrodes. This helpsto reduce the number of steps involved in manufacturing verticaltransistors. In other applications, it can be desirable to formconductive coatings with a minimum of separation in the x-y plane. Usingthe post 20 and cap 30 to vertically separate electrodes, allows forthem to be in close proximity in a plane parallel to the plane of thesubstrate.

A process flow for forming the two vertically spaced electrodes is shownin FIG. 64. The first four steps are the same as those steps describedwith reference to FIG. 12. In Step 810, a substrate is provided into thesystem followed by providing a structural polymer layer on the substratesurface in Step 820. Next, a patterned inorganic thin film is formed onthe structural polymer layer in Step 830, followed by the formation of apost and cap structure by etching the structural polymer layer in Step840. In FIG. 64, the Step 888 is functionally equivalent to Step 880 ofFIG. 12. In Step 888, a first electrode is formed over the capsimultaneously with a second electrode being formed not over the post.This can be accomplished by using a line-of-sight deposition processsuch as a metal evaporation process. In this embodiment, the portion ofthe cap which overhangs the walls of the post cap prevents the metalfrom depositing within the reentrant profile. The metal can be furtherpatterned after deposition using standard photolithographic techniques.Alternative line-of-sight deposition techniques include sputtering andreactive sputtering in order to deposit metals, alloys or conductivemetal oxides. In other example embodiments, Step 888 includes usingselective area deposition in combination with ALD to simultaneously formthe first and second electrodes. In these embodiments, an inhibitor isused to pattern a conductive thin film layer. The inhibitor is presentin at least the reentrant profile defined by the cap and post structure,preventing the conductive thin film from depositing in the reentrantprofile and specifically over the walls of the post. In someembodiments, where the inhibitor is present only within the reentrantprofile, the conductive material is further patterned using standardphotolithographic techniques. When using selective area deposition todefine the first and second electrodes it is preferred to use ALD, andmost preferred to use spatial ALD. The formation of the first and secondelectrodes defines the channel of the vertical transistor which includesthe portion of the semiconductor over the wall of the post.Additionally, in all embodiments the simultaneous formation of the firstand second electrodes results in a structure where the first electrodeis located in contact with a first portion of the semiconductor layerover the cap and the second electrode located in contact with a secondportion of the semiconductor layer over the substrate and not over thepost. As such, the first and second electrodes are different distancesfrom the substrate surface and the distance between the first and secondelectrodes is greater than zero when measured orthogonal to thesubstrate surface.

FIG. 65 illustrates two vertically spaced electrodes separated by theheight of a polymer post 20 and inorganic cap 30. As shown, the post 20and cap 30 form a first reentrant profile 141 and second reentrantprofile 146. The first electrode 181 and the second electrode 171 caninclude a conductive layer stack. The first electrode 181, secondelectrode 171 and third electrode 176 can be a single conductivematerial, as shown in FIG. 64, or can include any number of conductivematerial layers. The first electrode 181 is located over the cap, andthe second electrode 171 electrode is located in over the substrate andnot over the post, as shown in FIG. 64. The first electrode 181 has anedge into the plane of FIG. 64 along the line defined by point C1. Asshown in FIG. 1 a, point C1 is above the substrate surface. Similarly,the second electrode 171 has an edge into the plane of FIG. 64 along theline defined by point C1′. As shown in FIG. 65, the first electrode 181and second electrode 171 are different distances from the substratesurface (see points C1 and C1′). Stated another way, the distancebetween the first electrode 181 and second electrode 171 is greater thanzero when measured orthogonal to the substrate surface.

The first electrode 181 and second electrode 171 are formedsimultaneously, and, therefore, have the same material composition andlayer thickness. In some embodiments, the first electrode 181 and secondelectrode 171 are formed by a line-of-sight deposition resulting in astructure where the first electrode 181 and the second electrode 171 arevertically aligned. Stated more explicitly, the first electrode 181 hasan end (C1) and the second electrode 171 has an end (C1′), and the end(C1) of the first electrode 181 and the end (C′1) of the secondelectrode 171 are vertically aligned. In some embodiments, the firstelectrode 181 and second electrode 171 are transparent conductiveoxides. It should be understood that examples of the post 20 and cap 30previously discussed are useful to form the vertically separatedelectrodes 181 and 171 shown in FIG. 65, including both structures andmaterials composition.

In some embodiments, a conformal dielectric material layer is located onthe cap 30, the edges 40 of the post 20, and at least a portion of thesubstrate 110, the conformal dielectric layer being located at leastbetween the first electrode 181 and cap 30. The conformal dielectriclayer can also be located between the second electrode 171 and thesubstrate. Preferably, the conformal dielectric layer is a uniformcoating and is under all of the electrodes. The conformal dielectriclayer should be further understood from the previous descriptions.

As shown in FIG. 65, the post has another edge along the heightdimension and the cap 30 extends beyond the other edge of the post 20 todefine a second reentrant profile 146. In some embodiments, as describedabove, the structure can be used to form three electrically isolatedelectrodes. In other embodiments, the first electrode 181 located overthe cap 30 extends to conformally cover the second reentrant profile146. This results in a structure having two electrically separatedelectrodes, separated vertically due to the post 20 and cap 30structure, which can each be advantageously contacted at the level ofthe substrate. Additionally, there can be a filler material in thesecond reentrant profile. The filler material provides a profile thathelps enable the extended first electrode 181 to react the substratesurface without become disconnected due to the presence of the secondreentrant profile 145.

EXAMPLES Description of the Coating Apparatus

The process of depositing the inorganic thin film layers of thefollowing examples all employ a flow setup as described with referenceto FIG. 66. The flow setup is supplied with nitrogen gas flow 81 thathas been purified to remove oxygen and water contamination to below 1ppm. The gas is diverted by a manifold to several flow meters whichcontrol flows of purge gases and of gases diverted through bubblers toselect the reactive precursors. In addition to the nitrogen supply, airflow 90 is also delivered to the apparatus. The air is pretreated toremove moisture.

The following flows are delivered to the ALD coating apparatus: metal(zinc) precursor flow 92 containing metal precursors diluted in nitrogengas; oxidizer-containing flow 93 containing non-metal precursors oroxidizers diluted in nitrogen gas; and nitrogen purge flow 95 composedonly of the inert gas. The composition and flows of these streams arecontrolled as described below.

Gas bubbler 83 contains liquid dimethylaluminum isopropoxide (DMAI) andgas bubbler 82 contains diethyl zinc (DEZ). Flow meter 86 and flow meter85 deliver flows of pure nitrogen to the bubblers. The output of thebubbler now contains nitrogen gas saturated with the respectiveprecursor solution. The output flow is mixed with a nitrogen gasdilution flow delivered from flow meter 87 to yield the overall flow ofmetal precursor flow 92. In the following examples, the flows for thedielectric material are as follows:

-   -   Flow meter 86: To Dimethylaluminum isopropoxide Bubbler Flow    -   Flow meter 87: To Metal Precursor Dilution Flow

Gas bubbler 84 contains pure water at room temperature. Flow meter 88delivers a flow of pure nitrogen to gas bubbler 84, the output of whichrepresents a stream of saturated water vapor. An airflow is controlledby flow meter 91. The water bubbler output and air streams are mixedwith dilution stream from flow meter 89 to produce the overall flow ofoxidizer-containing flow 93 which has a variable water vaporcomposition, nitrogen composition, and total flow. In the followingexamples, the flows will be as follows:

-   -   Flow meter 88: To Water Bubbler    -   Flow meter 89: To Oxidizer Dilution Flow    -   Flow meter 91: To Air Flow

Flow meter 94 controls the flow of pure nitrogen that is to be deliveredto the coating apparatus. Streams or flows 92, 93, and 95 are thendelivered to an atmospheric pressure coating head where they aredirected out of the channels or microchamber slots as indicated in FIG.67. A gap 99 exists between the elongated channels and the substrate 97.Substrate 97 is maintained in close proximity to the output face 905 byan equilibrium between the flow of the gases supplied to the output faceand a slight amount of vacuum produced at the exhaust slot.

In order to perform a deposition, the delivery head 900 is positionedover a portion of the substrate 97 and then moved in a reciprocatingfashion over the substrate 97, as represented by the arrow 98. Thelength of the reciprocation cycle was 32 mm. The rate of motion of thereciprocation cycle was varied as a deposition parameter.

Materials Used:

(1) Glass substrates, cut to 2.5×2.5″ squares, previously cleaned inPiranha solution, washed with distilled water, reagent ethanol anddried.

(2) Dimethylaluminum isopropoxide (DMAI) (commercially available fromStrem Chemical Co.).

(3) Diethylzinc (DEZ) (commercially available from Strem Chemical Co.).

(4) Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) k-30 (commercially available from AcrosOrganics).

General Conditions for the Preparation of Layers Using AtmosphericPressure ALD

This describes the preparation of a thin film coating of the materiallayers on glass substrates as used in the examples. The ALD coatingdevice used to prepare these layers, namely Al₂O₃, ZnO:N, and Al-dopedZnO (AZO), has been described in detail in US Patent ApplicationPublication No. US 2009/0130858, the disclosure of which is incorporatedby reference herein in its entirety. The coating device has an outputface (facing up) that contains spatially separated elongated gaschannels and operates on a gas bearing principle. The coating device canbe understood with respect to FIGS. 66 and 67. Each gas channel iscomposed of an output slot 95, 93, 92 which supplies gas to the outputface 905, and adjacent exhaust slots 910 which remove gas from theoutput face 905. The order of the gas channels is P-O-P-M-P-O-P-M-P-O-Pwhere P represents a purge channel, O represents a channel containing anoxygen based precursor, and M represents a channel containing a metalbased precursor. As a substrate moves relative to the coating head itsees the above sequence of gases which effects ALD deposition.

A 2.5×2.5 inch square (62.5 mm square) glass substrate attached to aheated backer is positioned on the output face of the coating device andis maintained in close proximity to the output face by an equilibriumbetween the flow of the gases supplied to the output face and a slightamount of vacuum produced at the exhaust slot. For all of the examples,the exhaust slot pressure was approximately 40 inches of water belowatmospheric pressure. The purge gas P is composed of pure nitrogen. Theoxygen reactive precursor O is a mixture of nitrogen, water vapor, andoptionally ammonia vapor. The metal reactive precursor M is one or amixture of active metal alkyls vapor in nitrogen.

The metal alkyl precursors used in these examples were dimethylaluminumisopropoxide (DMAI) and diethyl zinc (DEZ). The flow rate of the activemetal alkyl vapor was controlled by bubbling nitrogen through the pureliquid precursor contained in an airtight bubbler by means of individualmass flow control meters. This saturated stream of metal alkyl was mixedwith a dilution flow before being supplied to the coating device. Theflow of water vapor was controlled by adjusting the bubbling rate ofnitrogen passed through pure water in a bubbler. This saturated streamof water vapor was mixed with a dilution flow before being supplied tothe coating device. The flow of ammonia vapor was controlled by passingpure ammonia vapor from a compressed fluid tank through a mass flowcontroller and mixing with the water vapor stream. All bubblers wereheld at room temperature. The temperature of the coating was establishedby controlling heating both the coating device and the backer to adesired temperature. Experimentally, the flow rates of the individualgasses were adjusted to the settings shown in Table 1 for each of thematerial layers coated in the examples contained herein. The flows shownare the total flows supplied to the coating device, and thus arepartitioned equally among the individual gas channels.

The coating process was then initiated by oscillating the coating headacross the substrate for the number of cycles necessary to obtain auniform deposited film of the desired thickness for the given example.Due to the fact that the coating head as described above contains twofull ALD cycles (two oxygen and two metal exposures per single directionpass over the head), a round trip oscillation represents 4 ALD cycles.In all of the experimental examples, the growth temperature used was200° C.

TABLE 1 N₂ dilution N₂ DMAI TMA Water with dilution N₂ bubbler bubblerDEZ NH3 bubbler Metal with Inert Residence flow flow bubbler flow flowAlkyl water Purge Time Layer (sccm) (sccm) flow (sccm) (sccm) (sccm)(sccm) (sccm) (sccm) (ms) Al₂O₃ 65 0 0 0 65 1500 2250 3000 100 Al₂O₃ 030 0 0 22.5 1500 2250 3000 50 ZnO 0 0 60 0 45 1500 2250 3000 50 AZO 10 030 0 22.5 1500 2250 3000 50TFT Experiments

The vertical transistors of the present invention have advantages overplanar transistor formed using the same materials and over verticaltransistors having metal cores which form the reentrant profile.Generally, the vertical transistors of the present invention haveshorter channel lengths than are easily obtainable from the standardprocessing for planar transistors. In some embodiments, where the entirevertical transistor is formed using printing processes the channellength of the transistor is less than the print resolution (which isunobtainable for a planar transistor whose channel is defined byprinting). The vertical transistors of the present invention allow forlower parasitic capacitance than their metal core counterparts, and canbe fabricated using simple printing processes. The following Examplesserve to illustrate the advantages of various embodiments of the presentinvention and present process.

Comparative Example C1 Patterned-by-Printing Planar Transistor

Planar Bottom gate thin film transistors were fabricated using theprocesses described in commonly assigned pending U.S. patent applicationSer. Nos. 13/600,266 and 13/600,264, filed Aug. 31, 2012, thedisclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in theirentirety, to be used as a control for the vertical printed transistorsof the present invention. To fabricate Comparative Example C1, a glasssubstrate was provided and cleaned using an O2 plasma process. Then thegate was provided using the combination of selective area deposition(SAD) and ALD, by first printing a deposition inhibitor material andthen using the Atmospheric ALD system described above to coat AZO,thereby providing a gate having 1000 A of AZO. The printed depositioninhibiting material layer was applied using a Fuji Dimatix 2500piezo-inkjet printer, and the inhibitor ink was a 2 wt % solution ofpolyvinyl pyrrolidone k-30 (PVP) in diacetone alcohol. The 10 pLcartridge was used with the Dimatix printer, and the print drop spacingwas set to be 70 microns. The inhibitor was removed to complete the gatelayer using a 2 minute O₂ plasma treatment to remove the inhibitor.

Next, 750 Å of Al₂O₃ was deposited as the dielectric layer in twolayers. Experimentally, the inhibitor dielectric pattern was printed,and 500 Å of Al₂O₃ was deposited at 200° C., using the conditions listedfor Al₂O₃ in Table 1 and 1164 ALD cycles each with a 100 ms residencetime on the Atmospheric ALD equipment described above. Next the samplewas subjected to a 2 minute O₂ plasma treatment to remove the inhibitorand clean the interface between the two layers of Al₂O₃. Next, thesemiconductor inhibitor pattern was printed and 250 Å of Al₂O₃ wasdeposited at 200° C., using the conditions listed for Al₂O₃ in Table 1and 582 ALD cycles each with a 100 ms residence time on the AtmosphericALD equipment described above. The sample was removed from theAtmospheric ALD equipment to facilitate the switch to ZnO deposition.The sample was then reloaded into the equipment without any surfacemodification and 300 Å of N-doped ZnO was deposited at 200° C., usingthe conditions listed for ZnO:N in Table 1 and 30 ALD cycles each with a50 ms residence time. The inhibitor was removed to complete thesemiconductor layer using a 2 minute O₂ plasma treatment.

The source and drain were formed by selectively depositing 1000 Å of AZOusing a printed pattern of PVP inhibitor to define the electrodepattern. 1000 Å of AZO was deposited at 200° C., using the conditionslisted for AZO in Table 1. After depositing the AZO, comparative ExampleC1 was complete and testing was completed without removing thedeposition inhibitor material. The pattern used in the formation of C1contained 133 individual transistors; each transistor as fabricated hada characteristic channel width and length of 70 microns and 400 micronsrespectively. The channel length was defined by a single row of printeddrops, and represents the minimum feature size obtainable with the printsystem as used in these Examples. Electrical testing of the transistorswas accomplished by using a probe station to contact the AZO gate andsource/drain. The transistors were swept in the linear regime, with thedrain being held constant at 0.2 V (Vd=0.2), and the gate voltage wasswept from −10 V to 20 V. The mobility (Mob.), threshold voltage (Vth),on-off ratio of the drain current (Ion/Ioff), the average gate leakagecurrent at the maximum gate voltage applied (Ig(vgmax)), ComparativeExample C1 and reported in Tables 2 below.

Printed Vertical Transistors

Vertical thin film transistors with polymer cores were fabricated usingan all printing process as described above in reference to the processflow shown in FIG. 34, and the descriptive build of FIGS. 35 a and 35 bthough FIGS. 51 a and 51 b. They were formed on 2.5 inch square glasssubstrates.

Inventive Example I1 Four pixel with Printed VTFT

To fabricate Inventive Example I1, a glass substrate was provided andcleaned using an O₂ plasma (100 W 0.3 Torr for 1 minute). Next, a 40 wt% solution of SU-8 2010 in cyclopentanone was spun for 10 sec at 500 rpmand ramped to a final spin of 30 sec at 2000 rpm. This coating was curedusing a recipe consisting of a two minute pre-exposure hot plate bake at95° C., 90 second blanket exposure, a two minute post-exposure hot platebake at 95° C. and final hard bake at 225° C. for 5 minutes resulting ina 7500 Å film of cured SU-8.

Next, the surface of the SU-8 was treated with a 30 second O₂ plasma toactivate the surface of the SU-8. The inorganic cap was formed over theSU-8 layer using the combination of SAD and ALD. Selective areadeposition was done using a patterned deposition inhibiting materiallayer using a Fuji Dimatix 2500 piezo-inkjet printer, as described inreference to Comparative Example C1 at the same 70 micron dot spacing.The inhibitor ink was the same PVP ink used C1. The PVP ink was printedin a pattern such that the open area defined the pattern of theinorganic cap. Next, 1000 Å of AZO was deposited using the S-ALD systemdescribed above and the conditions in Table 1.

After forming the patterned inorganic thin film layer (AZO) for the cap,the post was formed using a 300 W 0.4 Torr O₂ plasma for 6 minutes,resulting in a cap 30 and post 20 structure with a reentrant profile 140(as seen in FIGS. 37 a and 37 b). The O₂ plasma removed the PVPinhibitor and etched the SU-8 in the same process step.

Next, the conductive gate layer was provided as in Steps 852, 853 and855 as illustrated in FIGS. 38 a and 38 b through FIGS. 40 a and b,using the combination of SAD and ALD, providing a gate 120 having 1000 Aof AZO within the reentrant profile. This was done by printing the PVPink in the gate layer pattern, and depositing 1000 Å of AZO wasdeposited using the S-ALD system described above and the conditions inTable 1. The PVP was then removed using a 2 minute low power O2 plasma(100 W 0.3 Torr) to complete the gate layer.

The combination of SAD and ALD was also used to pattern the insulatinglayer 150, thereby forming a portion of thin film dielectric layer byselectively depositing an inorganic dielectric material the regions ofthe substrate where the first deposition inhibiting material layer isnot present using an atomic layer deposition process. The insulatinglayer 130 covers the gate layer 125 at least in the reentrant profile140 as shown in FIG. 43 a. Inventive Example I1 had the PVP ink printedon the substrate as in FIGS. 42 a and 42 b, and then 250 A of Al₂O₃ wasdeposited at 200° C., using the conditions listed for Al₂O₃ (DMAI andH2O as the precursors) in Table 1. To complete the pattern, the PVP inkwas removed using a low power oxygen plasma.

In Example I1, a buffer layer was deposited via selective areadeposition (as shown in FIG. 45 c). The buffer layer forms anotherportion of the thin film dielectric layer 130. In this step, the patternof the semiconductor layer was printed as shown in FIGS. 44 a and 44 b,and 250 Å of Al₂O₃ was deposited at 200° C. as above. This step havebeen found to be important for TFTs that are formed by the combinationof SAD and ALD, since special care should be taken to insure that whenchanging between the dielectric pattern and the semiconductor patternthat the interface is not disturbed by the removal of the depositioninhibiting material.

To this end, the semiconductor layer 150 was deposited using the samepattern shown in FIGS. 44 a and 44 b, after depositing the aluminumoxide, but without any intervening process steps. In the present ExampleI1, nitrogen doped zinc oxide (ZnO:N) was deposited as the semiconductorlayer 150 at 200° C., using the conditions listed for ZnO:N in Table 1.The patterned semiconductor layer 150 has the same pattern as the bufferlayer 155.

Next, the drain and source electrodes were formed by using selectivearea deposition of a conductive inorganic material using an atomic layerdeposition process. This was done by printing a patterned polymericinhibitor such that the inhibitor wicks along the reentrant profile inthe length dimension of the post. In Example I1, there the open area 80in the inhibitor pattern as shown in FIG. 47 a was designed to be 4pixels wide in the area of the reentrant profile. The same PVP ink andDimatix printer was used in this step as was used in the previouspatterning steps, such that 4 pixels is the equivalent distance of 280microns. The inhibitor wicks, or moves by capillary action, along thereentrant profile from each edge of the open pattern 80. In order tohave a functional VTFT, the inhibitor ink must meet up such that thereentrant profile is completely protected along the width of thetransistor.

After printing the inhibitor pattern containing the open area 80, 1000 Åof AZO was deposited using the 1000 Å of AZO was deposited at 200° C.,using the conditions listed for AZO in Table 1 as the drain/source (180,170). The wicked inhibitor prohibited the growth of AZO within thereentrant profile to form separate electrodes via selective areadeposition. The VTFT of Inventive Example 1 was complete after thedeposition of the AZO, and testing was completed without removing thedeposition inhibitor material.

Inventive Example I2 Three Pixel with Printed VTFT Layer

Inventive Example I2 was formed using the same process, and on the samesubstrate, as Inventive Example I1. The only difference betweenInventive Example I2 and I1, is that Inventive Example I2 had a 3 pixelwide pattern used to define the width of the transistor when forming thesource and drain electrodes.

The VTFT of Inventive Example I2 is shown in FIGS. 68 a through 68 c.FIG. 68 a is an optical micrograph of the complete VTFT. The first,second and third electrodes (180, 170 and 175) are labeled as in FIG. 1b for ease in understanding. The post and cap structure is identified bythe outline of the cap 30. The optical micrograph of FIG. 68 aillustrates the feature of the present invention where the channeldefined by the first electrode and the second electrode including awidth dimension and a length dimension, wherein the length dimensionvaries along the width dimension of the transistor. FIG. 68 b is a SEMimage showing the reentrant profile and the edge of the first electrodeand second electrodes over the cap and the substrate respectively. FIG.68 c is a cross-sectional SEM taken along the line A-A′ of the opticalmicrograph in FIG. 68 a showing the polymer post, the reentrant profileand the conformal coatings.

Inventive Example I3 Two Pixel with Printed VTFT

Inventive Example I3 was formed using the same process, and on the samesubstrate, as Inventive Example I1. The only difference betweenInventive Example I3 and I1, is that Inventive Example I3 had a 2 pixelwide pattern used to define the width of the transistor when forming thesource and drain electrodes.

Inventive Example I4 One Pixel with Printed VTFT

Inventive Example I4 was formed using the same process, and on the samesubstrate, as Inventive Example I1. The only difference betweenInventive Example I4 and I1, is that Inventive Example I4 had a 1 pixelwide pattern used to define the width of the transistor when forming thesource and drain electrodes.

Electrical testing of Inventive Examples I1-I4 was accomplished by usinga probe station to contact the AZO gate and the two electrodes at thesubstrate level (the second 170 and third 175 electrodes as shown inFIGS. 50 a and 50 b), so that the first transistor and second transistorwere connected in series. The transistors were swept in the linearregime, with the drain being held constant at 0.2 V (Vd=0.2), and thegate voltage was swept from −2 V to 5 V. The curves can be found in FIG.69 a, and it is clear that the source and drain electrodes are notshorted each other, or to the gate of the vertical transistors.Additionally, the expected increase in current with increasing width ofthe transistor is observed. FIG. 69 b illustrates the different patternsused to form Inventive Examples I1 through I4.

In Examples I1-I4, there were four patterns used that contained openarea 80 in the inhibitor pattern as shown in FIG. 47 a. In thesevariations, the open area 80 was either 4, 3 2 or 1 pixel wide in thearea of the reentrant profile. The same PVP ink and Dimatix printer wasused in this step as was used in the previous patterning steps. Theinhibitor wicks, or moves by capillary action, along the reentrantprofile from each edge of the open pattern 80. In order to have afunctional VTFT, the inhibitor ink must meet up such that the reentrantprofile is completely protected along the width of the transistor. Usingvariation in open area, and therefore transistor width, allows one toaccess the wicked profile. Further exploring the relationship betweenthe size of area 80 and the printed inhibitor, as well as the use of theoptional dielectric layer 115, Inventive Examples I5 through I7 wererun.

Inventive Example I5 Four Pixel with Printed VTFT

Inventive Example I5 was formed using the same process as InventiveExample I1 with the following exceptions. Inventive Example I5 used a33.5% solution of SU-8 in cyclopentanone, resulting in a cured polymerfilm thickness of 6000 Å. Instead of forming the inorganic cap from 1000Å of AZO, Inventive Example I5 deposited 250 Å of aluminum oxide fromDMAI and H₂O using the conditions found in Table 1. After forming thereentrant profile, a 250 Å thick film of aluminum oxide was depositedover the entire substrate. The gate layer was deposited as in InventiveExample I1, resulting in the structure shown in FIG. 6. InventiveExample I5, was completed as in I1, except a thinner buffer layer of 150Å was used in I5 instead of the 250 Å buffer layer of I1.

Inventive Example I6 Three Pixel with Printed VTFT

Inventive Example I6 was formed using the same process, and on the samesubstrate, as Inventive Example I5. The only difference betweenInventive Example I6 and I5, is that Inventive Example I6 had a 3 pixelwide pattern used to define the width of the transistor when forming thesource and drain electrodes.

Inventive Example I7 Two Pixel with Printed VTFT

Inventive Example I7 was formed using the same process, and on the samesubstrate, as Inventive Example I5. The only difference betweenInventive Example I7 and I5, is that Inventive Example I7 had a 2 pixelwide pattern used to define the width of the transistor when forming thesource and drain electrodes.

Electrical testing of Inventive Examples I5-I7 was accomplished by usinga probe station to contact the AZO gate and the two electrodes at thesubstrate level (the first 170 and third 175 electrodes as shown inFIGS. 5 a and 5 b), so that the first transistor and second transistorwere connected in series. The transistors were swept in the linear andsaturation regime, with the drain being held constant at 0.2 V or 8V(Vd=0.2, Vd=8) respectively, and the gate voltage was swept from −2 V to8 V. The mobility (Mob.), threshold voltage (Vth), on-off ratio of thedrain current (Ion/Ioff), the average gate leakage current at themaximum gate voltage applied (Ig(Vgmax)) were evaluated for the Examplesbelow and reported in Tables 2. The saturation curves can be found inFIG. 70, and it is clear that the source and drain electrodes are notshorted each other, or to the gate of the vertical transistors.Additionally, the expected increase in current with increasing width ofthe transistor is observed.

TABLE 2 Vd W 2 × L Ig Sample (Volt) (micron) (micron) Mobility VthIon/Ioff (Vgmax) C1 0.2 400 70 10.2 9.7 4.8E+05 1.5E−10 (L, singleplanar TFT) I5 0.2 254 17 12.2 4.0 5.6E+05 3.4E−11 I5 8 254 17 10.5 3.07.0E+06 2.6E−11 I6 0.2 185 28 12.4 3.9 2.0E+05 3.9E−11 I6 8 185 28 10.02.9 2.8E+06 3.0E−11 I7 0.2 111 53 17.4 3.9 8.2E+04 3.9E−11 I7 8 111 5313.7 2.8 1.2E+06 2.2E−11

FIG. 71 illustrates the impact on the different patterns used to formInventive Examples I1 through I7. As shown, the wider the opening in theinhibitor pattern used to define the transistor width, the shorter thechannel length. This relationship is due to the complex space of fillingthe capillary via wicking, the ink wetting the substrate surface out ofthe capillary, and the ink drying causing a change in rheology(primarily viscosity) during the filling process. On the y-axis, thevalue is twice that of the channel length a single transistor defined bya single reentrant profile. As can be seen, at all channel widths testedthe channel length is less that the feature size obtainable by simplyprinting the ink on a flat surface—for the narrowest width transistorsthe channel length for a single VTF is less than 60 microns and for thewidest transistors the channel length is on the order of a few microns,far smaller than the 70 microns dot size of the print system. Forreference, values for inventive embodiments like I1-I4 are shown, havingcomparable post height to I5 through I7.

While the individual transistors of the previous Inventive Examples canbe probed, it is most convenient to probe the electrodes at thesubstrate level, rather than over the cap. To that end, InventiveExamples I8 through I11 were fabricated such that only a single verticaltransistor was formed over the polymeric post and cap structure.

Inventive Example I8 Three Pixel Single Printed VTFT (No Filler)

Inventive Example I8 was formed using the same process as InventiveExample I6 with the following exceptions. The gate pattern used inInventive Example I8 was such that the conductive gate layer onlyextended into one reentrant profile of the cap and post structure asshown in FIGS. 53 a and 53 b. All other steps were identical to those ofInventive Example I6. The single vertical transistor of InventiveExample 8 had an on-off ratio of 2*10⁵, and gate leakage of 1*10⁻¹⁰ Ampswhen tested in the linear regime with a constant Vd of 0.2 V, and thegate voltage swept from −2 to 8 Volts.

Inventive Example I9 Three Pixel Single Printed VTFT (with Filler)

Inventive Example I9 was formed using the same process as InventiveExample I8 with the following exceptions. As in I8, the gate patternused in Inventive Example I8 was such that the conductive gate layeronly extended into one reentrant profile of the cap and post structure,and in the opposite reentrant profile a filler material was printedprior to the blanket coating of 250 Å of aluminum oxide, as shown inFIGS. 54 a and 54 b. In Inventive Example I9 the filler material was thesame PVP ink that was used as an inhibitor, only it was treated with ashort oxygen plasma low power oxygen plasma to activate the surface toenable ALD growth. All other steps were identical to those of InventiveExample I8. The single vertical transistor of Inventive Example I9 hadan on-off ratio of 3.6*10⁵, and gate leakage of 2.8*10⁻¹¹ Amps whentested in the linear regime with a constant Vd of 0.2 V, and the gatevoltage swept from −2 to 7 Volts.

Inventive Example I10 Three Pixel Single Printed VTFT (with Filler)

Inventive Example I10 was formed using the same process as InventiveExample I8 with the following exceptions. After depositing the AZO forthe gate layer using the gate pattern used in Inventive Example I8 wassuch that the conductive gate layer only extended into one reentrantprofile of the cap and post structure, the inhibitor material wasremoved using a low power O₂ plasma. Next, a dilute solution of SU-8 wasspun on to be the filler material. In Inventive Example I10, a 10%solution of SU-8 2010 in cyclopentanone was coated and cured using thesame conditions as for the SU-8 structural polymer layer. After curingthe SU-8 layer, it was patterned by printing an inhibitor pattern withopenings over the reentrant profile contacting the filler material.Next, a 250 Å Al₂O₃ hard protective layer was deposited using theAtmospheric ALD system described above. Finally, the SU-8 fillermaterial was patterned using a 4 minute 300 W 0.4 Torr oxygen plasma,which both removed the inhibitor material and the SU-8 that was notprotected by the patterned aluminum oxide. After patterning the SU-8filler, the single vertical transistor was completed using the sameprocess steps as in Inventive Example I8. The single vertical transistorof Inventive Example I10 had an on-off ratio of 1.2*10⁴, and gateleakage of 1.9*10⁻¹⁰ Amps when tested in the linear regime with aconstant Vd of 0.2 V, and the gate voltage swept from −2 to 8 Volts.

Inventive Example I11 Three Pixel Single Printed VTFT (with Filler)

Inventive Example I11 was formed using the same process as InventiveExample I10 with the following exceptions. After depositing the AZO forthe gate layer using the gate pattern used in Inventive Example I8 wassuch that the conductive gate layer only extended into one reentrantprofile of the cap and post structure, the inhibitor material was notremoved, and instead was left in place under the dilute SU-8 coating.The dual layer of PVP and SU-8 form the filler layer for InventiveExample I11, and were patterned in the same manner as Inventive ExampleI10. The single vertical transistor was completed using the same processsteps as in Inventive Example I8. The single vertical transistor ofInventive Example I11 had an on-off ratio of 2.7*10⁴, and gate leakageof 6.4*10⁻¹¹ Amps when tested in the linear regime with a constant Vd of0.2V, and the gate voltage swept from −2 to 8 Volts.

Vertical Transistors Fabricated Using Photolithography Inventive ExampleI12 Photolithography VTFT with Cr Lines

Inventive Example I12 is an example of forming the vertical transistorsof the present invention having a polymer post and inorganic cap using aphotolithographic process. First a clean glass substrate was coated with100 nm of Cr via evaporation, and patterned using photolithography with1813 as the resist layer and a Cr etchant. The resist was then strippedand the sample was cleaned using a 1 minute, 100 W 0.3 Torr oxygenplasma. Next the SU-8 structural polymer layer was coated and cured asin Inventive Example I8. Next, 500 Å of Al2O3 was deposited using theconditions for TMA and H2O listed in Table 1, and 464 cycles at 50 msresidence time. The aluminum oxide layer was patterned using 1813resist. The resist was exposed through a low resolution mask to leave alarge unexposed patch of resist over a portion of the Cr pattern wherethe post will be formed. Then the sample was exposed through the backside where the Cr pattern on the glass substrate masked the exposure toform an aligned pattern of photoresist over the Cr line on the top ofthe SU-8 layer, as illustrated in FIGS. 31 a and 31 b. The aluminumoxide was then etched in a 60° C. phosphoric acid bath for 2 minutes toform the patterned aluminum oxide layer of the inorganic cap. Afteretching, the 1813 resist was removed using an acetone rinse, followed bya rinse in IPA.

The structure of the inorganic cap and polymeric post was completed asin Inventive Example I8, using a 300 W 0.4 Torr O₂ plasma etch for 6minutes. Next, 1500 Å of AZO was deposited for the gate layer, andpatterned using a self-aligned photo exposure. In this step, PMMA wasused as the photo-patternable resist and spin-coated over the entiresample. The sample was then exposed from the top surface so that the AZOgate layer over the inorganic cap protected the PMMA within thereentrant profile from exposure. After exposure, the PMMA was developedin MIBK leaving PMMA only in the reentrant profile. The AZO was thenetched for 60 seconds in dilute acetic solution, followed by removal ofthe PMMA from the reentrant profile using acetone and IPA.

Next, the sample was cleaned using a 1 minute oxygen plasma (100 W, 0.3Torr) prior to depositing the insulating and semiconductor layers; 120 Åof aluminum oxide (TMA and H2O) followed by 120 Å of ZnO:N (DEZ, H2O,NH4) were deposited during one deposition step using the conditions inTable 1 above. Next, the semiconductor layer was patterned usingphotolithography in which a Cr mask was used in exposing a resist stackof PMMA and 1813, after which the 1813 was developed and the exposedPMMA was removed with an oxygen plasma. The ZnO was etched in a weakacetic acid solution. The aluminum oxide layer was then patterned byspin-coating another layer of 1813, and exposing using a Cr mask inorder to open vias down to the Cr pattern on the substrate. Afterdeveloping the 1813, the aluminum oxide was etched using a 60° C.phosphoric acid bath.

The source and drain electrodes were deposited using a line of sightdeposition such that the reentrant profile caused the electrode over theinorganic cap to be separated from the electrode on over the substrate(not over the post). A 500 Å layer of Al was evaporated onto the sample.A double layer of PMMA and 1813 was spin-coated over the substrate, andpatterned using a low resolution Cr mask to expose the 1813, after whichthe 1813 was developed and the exposed PMMA was removed with an oxygenplasma. The aluminum layer was etched using Dow MF319, the developersolution for resist 1813.

The Inventive vertical transistor I12 was complete and had a structureof that of FIG. 3, using the gate structure illustrated in FIG. 7. Thevertical transistor of Inventive Example I12, as fabricated, had twovertical transistors connected in series each with a channel width of 83microns and a channel length of 1 micron. The transistors had an on-offratio of 7.6*10⁵, and gate leakage of 4.4*10⁻¹² Amps when tested in thelinear regime with a constant Vd of 0.2 V, and the gate voltage sweptfrom −1 to 3 Volts.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference tocertain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood thatvariations and modifications can be effected within the scope of theinvention.

PARTS LIST

-   20 polymer post-   25 width of post-   30 inorganic material cap-   45 length of post-   40 side wall-   41 deposition inhibitor-   45 height of post-   50 structural polymer layer-   55 uniform inorganic thin film layer-   56 patterned photoresist-   57 patterned inorganic material layer-   60 region where the inhibitor material is not present-   61 printed polymeric inhibitor having a filler pattern-   62 region where the inhibitor material is not present-   65 filler material-   70 via-   71 printed polymeric inhibitor having a cap pattern-   73 printed polymeric inhibitor having a gate pattern-   75 printed polymeric inhibitor having a dielectric pattern-   77 printed polymeric inhibitor having an electrode pattern-   72,74,76,78 region where the inhibitor material is not present-   80 region where the inhibitor material is not present-   81 nitrogen gas flow-   82, 83, 84 gas bubbler-   85, 86 flow meter-   87, 88 flow meter-   89, 91, 94 flow meter-   90 air flow-   92 metal precursor flow-   93 oxidizer-containing flow-   95 nitrogen purge flow-   96 substrate support-   97 example substrate-   98 arrow-   99 gap-   100 vertical transistor-   103 vertical transistor-   104 vertical transistor-   105 vertical transistor-   106 vertical transistor-   107 vertical transistor-   108 vertical transistor-   110 substrate-   115 conformal dielectric material layer-   120 electrically conductive gate structure-   121 electrically conductive gate structure-   122 conductive material layer-   125 conductive gate layer-   126 first gate-   127 second gate-   130 patterned insulating layer-   140 first reentrant profile-   141 first reentrant profile-   145 second reentrant profile-   146 second reentrant profile-   150 semiconductor material layer-   151 inorganic thin film layer-   155 buffer layer-   160 semiconductor material layer-   170 second electrode-   171 second electrode-   175 third electrode-   176 third electrode-   180 first electrode-   181 first electrode-   182 first electrode-   200 vertical transistor-   203 vertical transistor-   204 vertical transistor-   205 vertical transistor-   213 vertical transistor-   270 second electrode-   275 third electrode-   280 first electrode-   330 patterned insulating layer-   350 semiconductor material layer-   370 first electrode-   375 third electrode-   380 second electrode-   385 fourth electrode-   500 portion of gate layer-   550 portion of gate layer-   701 substrate-   710 substrate-   800 forming an electrically conductive gate structure-   801 providing a patterned deposition inhibitor-   802 depositing a film using ALD-   803 optionally removing the deposition inhibitor-   810 providing a substrate-   820 providing a structural polymer layer-   830 forming patterned inorganic thin film-   832 printing a polymeric inhibitor in a cap pattern-   834 depositing an inorganic thin film using ALD-   842 removing the patterned inhibitor and portions of the polymer    layer-   840 forming a polymer post having an inorganic material cap-   850 forming a patterned gate layer-   852 printing a polymeric inhibitor in a gate pattern-   853 forming a conformal conductive gate layer using ALD-   855 removing the polymeric inhibitor-   860 forming a patterned insulating layer-   862 printing a polymeric inhibitor in a dielectric pattern-   863 forming a conformal dielectric layer using ALD-   865 removing the polymeric inhibitor-   870 forming a patterned semiconductor layer-   872 printing a polymeric inhibitor in a semiconductor pattern-   873 forming a conformal semiconductor layer using ALD-   875 removing the polymeric inhibitor-   880 simultaneously forming first and second electrodes-   882 printing a patterned polymeric inhibitor that wicks along the    reentrant profile-   884 depositing a conductive inorganic thin film using ALD to form    first and second electrodes-   888 simultaneously forming a first and second electrodes-   900 delivery head-   905 output face-   910 exhaust channels-   920 gate-   925 gate-   940 gap-   950 coating a filler material-   960 printing a polymeric inhibitor in a filler pattern-   970 forming a patterned inorganic filler layer using ALD-   980 removing the polymeric inhibitor and portions of the filler    material-   A,A′ line-   C1,C1′ point-   C2,C2′ point

The invention claimed is:
 1. A vertically separated electrode structurecomprising: a substrate; a polymeric material post on the substrate, thepost having a height dimension extending away from the substrate to atop defined by a length dimension and a width dimension over thesubstrate, the post having an edge along the height dimension; aninorganic material cap on the top of the post, the cap covering the topof the post in the length dimension and the width dimension of the post,the cap extending beyond the edge of the post in at least the widthdimension to define a first reentrant profile; a first electrode locatedover the cap; a second electrode located over the substrate and not overthe post and adjacent to the edge of the post in the reentrant profilesuch that a distance between the first electrode and second electrode isgreater than zero when measured orthogonally to the substrate surface,the first electrode and second electrode have the same materialcomposition and layer thickness, a conformal dielectric material layeron the cap, the edges of the post, and at least a portion of thesubstrate, the conformal dielectric layer being located at least betweenthe first electrode and the cap, the first electrode having an end andthe second electrode having an end, wherein the end of the firstelectrode and the end of the second electrode are vertically aligned. 2.The structure of claim 1, wherein the conformal dielectric materiallayer is located between the second electrode and the substrate.
 3. Thestructure of claim 1, the post having another edge along the heightdimension, the cap extending beyond the other edge of the post to definea second reentrant profile.
 4. The structure of claim 3, wherein thefirst electrode located over the cap extends to conformally cover thesecond reentrant profile.
 5. The structure of claim 3, furthercomprising a filler material in the second reentrant profile, andwherein the first electrode located over the cap extends to conformallycover the filler material.
 6. The structure of claim 1, wherein the postcomprises a polyester, polyetherester, polyamide, polyesteramide,polyurethane, polyimide, polyetherimide, polyurea, polyamideimide,polyphenyleneoxide, phenoxy resin, epoxy resin, polyolefin,polyacrylate, polyethylene-co-vinyl alcohol, or a copolymer thereof, ora mixture thereof.
 7. The structure of claim 1, wherein the postcomprises an epoxy resin or polyimide.
 8. The structure of claim 1,wherein the inorganic material cap includes one of a Al₂O₃, SiO₂, HfO,ZrO, TiO₂, Ta₂O₅, and Si_(x)N_(y).
 9. The structure of claim 1, whereinthe polymeric material post has a height dimension extending away fromthe substrate that is less than 10 microns.
 10. The structure of claim1, wherein the cap extends beyond the edge of the post by less than theheight of the post.
 11. The structure of claim 1, wherein the firstelectrode and the second electrode have the same material compositionand layer thickness.
 12. The structure of claim 1, wherein the firstelectrode and the second electrode are transparent conductive oxides.